Say what you will about Tesla’s new Cybertruck — a vehicle that, depending on who you ask, either resembles the car of the future or a metal box on wheels. But the company is popular.
And Ukrainian fraudsters have attempted to cash in on that popularity.
The Kyiv prosecutor’s office has completed a pre-trial investigation into two individuals accused of selling fake Tesla shares worth more than Hr 12 million ($500,000).
Between 2017 and 2019, they allegedly used the name Tesla, Inc. to lure 25 people into their elaborate scheme.
Using a fake website, they promised to sell stocks in the company or Tesla cars to their victims. In reality, however, the suspects had no relation to Elon Musk’s corporation and no right to act on behalf of the company.
They also lacked a license to conduct activities on the stock market and, as a result, did not carry out any real transactions. Instead, they simply embezzled all the funds from potential investors, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
If convicted of fraud and violations of the state budget law, the suspects could face up to eight years behind bars.
The scheme’s discovery came at an inopportune time for the alleged fraudsters. On Nov. 26, Tesla’s stock jumped 4% after Elon Musk tweeted that the firm had already received 200,000 orders for the Cybertruck, which it had unveiled just days earlier.
