Troy Business Owner Charged With Wire Fraud In Fraud Scheme

TROY, MI — A Troy-based commercial real estate broker and investor has been charged with wire fraud after federal authorities accused him of tricking people into wiring him money that he said he'd invest in lucrative real estate deals.

Viktor Gjonaj, 43, was charged Thursday with one count of wire fraud following an investigation by the FBI, U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said.

“This case shows us that criminals may use sophisticated methods and apparently legitimate businesses, but their crimes amount to nothing more than stealing other people’s money," Schneider said. "The defendant’s gambling harmed not just himself, but many other innocent victims as well."

In June 2016, Gjonaj believed he had discovered a guaranteed way to win jackpots in the Michigan Lottery Dailey 3 and 4 games, authorities said Thursday, but in order to accomplish this, he had to substantially increase the times he played and the amounts of money he spent.

Prosecutors said that Gjonaj began losing more money than he won and more money than he could afford to lose, prompting him to devise a scheme in which he would trick people into giving him money by falsely promising them he would invest it in lucrative real estate deals. In order to make the deals look legitimate, Gjonaj created a fake title company and instructed his investors to wire transfer money into the bank account of the fake company, prosecutors said.

Gjonaj described the fraudulent real estate deals in great detail and encouraged victim-investors to continue giving him money by disbursing payments to them which he falsely claimed were profits on their “investment," authorities said.

But by early 2019, Gjonaj was betting over $1 million a week on Michigan Lottery games using money fraudulently obtained from victims, and in August 2019 his scheme to defraud unraveled, resulting in over $19 million in losses to victims, prosecutors said.

“Viktor Gjonaj repeatedly lied about the nature of his business, inducing investors to turn over money that he then squandered by playing the lottery," said Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "The defendant’s lies have caught up with him and he will now face the consequences of his fraudulent scheme."