SOUTH BEND – Junaid Gulzar, 32 years old, of Goshen, Indiana, was found guilty following a 3-day jury trial presided over by United States United States District Court Judge Robert L. Miller, Jr., announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.
The jury found Gulzar guilty on all three counts of wire fraud as charged in the Indictment. It was alleged that from January 2021 through July 2021, Gulzar devised a scheme to defraud investors and obtain money through false pretenses by use of wire communications in interstate commerce. Gulzar had offered an investment opportunity in gas stations in Goshen and Plymouth, Indiana, promising a high rate of return with monthly payments. Instead, Gulzar personally benefitted by at least $210,000.00 by defrauding the investors and not using the money as he had promised in the gas stations. No payments were made to the investors from the Goshen gas station investment and the Plymouth gas station was never purchased. Instead, some of the money wired to Gulzar by the investors for the purchase of the Plymouth gas station was used for his own benefit at a casino.
Gulzar’s sentencing is scheduled for December 14, 2022. Any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the District Court Judge after consideration of federal statutes and the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Indiana State Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jerome W. McKeever and Joel Gabrielse.