Federal
regulators charged a 40-year-old Dallas-area options trader with running an $18
million Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted members of his own religious
community in North Texas.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against Arsalan Rawjani and his investment firm, Trade with Ayasa LLC, for allegedly promising guaranteed monthly returns of 3% to 5% from options trading while actually using new investor money to pay earlier clients.
Rawjani
operated the scheme from 2021 through 2024, positioning himself as an
experienced trader within the Ismaili Muslim community where he served as an
active member and leader. Court documents show he raised approximately $18
million from investors during the three-year period.
Trading Claims Don’t Match
Bank Records
The SEC’s
complaint reveals a significant gap between Rawjani’s promises and his actual
trading activity. While he claimed investor funds would be pooled for
profitable options trading, bank records show only about $1 million of the $18
million raised ever reached a brokerage account for actual trading.
Of that $1
million sent to brokers, less than $166,000 returned as trading profits,
nowhere near enough to fund the guaranteed monthly payments promised to dozens
of investors.
“Rawjani
falsely represented to investors and potential investors that he operated a
successful pooled-investment program that offered guaranteed monthly dividend
payments as well as principal protection,” the SEC stated in its
complaint.
Instead of
generating returns through trading expertise, Rawjani relied on classic Ponzi
scheme mechanics. When Trade with Ayasa’s bank account held just $41,916 in
April 2022, two new investments totaling $45,000 arrived the next day. Within
two weeks, the firm paid out $55,000 in dividends to existing investors.
You may also like: SEC Settles $4.7 Million Fraud Case Against Vegas Trading Firm
Personal Spending Drained
Investment Pool
Court
filings detail how Rawjani diverted millions in investor funds for personal
use. Between April 2021 and March 2024, he withdrew $4.3 million for himself
from the main Trade with Ayasa account, while sending another $226,000 to
individuals sharing his surname.
Bank
records show checks written to Rawjani with memo lines reading
“Commission,” “Monthly Commission,” and “April
Bonus.” His wife received payments marked “Hawaii Trip,”
“Commission/canada Trip,” and consulting fees, despite providing no
actual services to the firm.
The scheme
began unraveling in late 2023 when Rawjani could no longer attract enough new
investors to fund the promised payments. Checks started bouncing, yet he
continued soliciting new clients through June 2024, raising more than $2
million during a period when he couldn’t pay existing investors.
Stories about alleged fraudsters exploiting local
communities with investment programs that seem too good to be true are the
bread and butter of the SEC. FinanceMagnates.com recently reported that the
regulator recovered nearly $4 million from the widow of a deceased investment
adviser who ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors out of $29
million over an 11-year period.
Related story: Investment Guru’s 4,000% Annual Return Promise Costs Investors $2 Million
Community Trust Exploited
Through YouTube Presence
Rawjani
built credibility within the Ismaili community partly through his online
presence. He maintained YouTube and Discord channels featuring daily trading
sessions, giving investors the impression they could watch him generate their
returns in real-time.
When
concerned investors demanded explanations for missed payments, Rawjani offered
false reassurances. In May 2024, he told clients that bank investigations had
frozen $1.35 million that would be released by mid-June. Court documents show
the bank had already closed Trade with Ayasa’s accounts and remitted a final
balance of just $32,471.
In one
particularly brazen deception, Rawjani showed a worried investor what appeared
to be a $14 million brokerage account balance on his laptop screen. The
investor later discovered Rawjani had displayed the investor’s own personal
account, with an actual balance of only $400.
Legal Structure Designed
to Confuse
Rawjani
operated through multiple limited liability companies across three states, all
using variations of the “Trade with Ayasa” name. The Texas entity was
dissolved for tax delinquency in 2022, followed by the Wyoming version in 2024,
yet Rawjani continued using the dissolved companies’ names on investor
agreements.
This
corporate shell game helped obscure the true nature of his operations while
maintaining an appearance of legitimacy for new investors.
The SEC is
seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil
penalties against Rawjani and his various Trade with Ayasa entities. The case
was filed in the federal district court in Dallas.
Some time ago, the Commission also charged the
adviser John Woods and his companies, which had raised more than $110 million from over
400 investors as part of the alleged Ponzi scheme.
Federal
regulators charged a 40-year-old Dallas-area options trader with running an $18
million Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted members of his own religious
community in North Texas.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against Arsalan Rawjani and his investment firm, Trade with Ayasa LLC, for allegedly promising guaranteed monthly returns of 3% to 5% from options trading while actually using new investor money to pay earlier clients.
Rawjani
operated the scheme from 2021 through 2024, positioning himself as an
experienced trader within the Ismaili Muslim community where he served as an
active member and leader. Court documents show he raised approximately $18
million from investors during the three-year period.
Trading Claims Don’t Match
Bank Records
The SEC’s
complaint reveals a significant gap between Rawjani’s promises and his actual
trading activity. While he claimed investor funds would be pooled for
profitable options trading, bank records show only about $1 million of the $18
million raised ever reached a brokerage account for actual trading.
Of that $1
million sent to brokers, less than $166,000 returned as trading profits,
nowhere near enough to fund the guaranteed monthly payments promised to dozens
of investors.
“Rawjani
falsely represented to investors and potential investors that he operated a
successful pooled-investment program that offered guaranteed monthly dividend
payments as well as principal protection,” the SEC stated in its
complaint.
Instead of
generating returns through trading expertise, Rawjani relied on classic Ponzi
scheme mechanics. When Trade with Ayasa’s bank account held just $41,916 in
April 2022, two new investments totaling $45,000 arrived the next day. Within
two weeks, the firm paid out $55,000 in dividends to existing investors.
You may also like: SEC Settles $4.7 Million Fraud Case Against Vegas Trading Firm
Personal Spending Drained
Investment Pool
Court
filings detail how Rawjani diverted millions in investor funds for personal
use. Between April 2021 and March 2024, he withdrew $4.3 million for himself
from the main Trade with Ayasa account, while sending another $226,000 to
individuals sharing his surname.
Bank
records show checks written to Rawjani with memo lines reading
“Commission,” “Monthly Commission,” and “April
Bonus.” His wife received payments marked “Hawaii Trip,”
“Commission/canada Trip,” and consulting fees, despite providing no
actual services to the firm.
The scheme
began unraveling in late 2023 when Rawjani could no longer attract enough new
investors to fund the promised payments. Checks started bouncing, yet he
continued soliciting new clients through June 2024, raising more than $2
million during a period when he couldn’t pay existing investors.
Stories about alleged fraudsters exploiting local
communities with investment programs that seem too good to be true are the
bread and butter of the SEC. FinanceMagnates.com recently reported that the
regulator recovered nearly $4 million from the widow of a deceased investment
adviser who ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors out of $29
million over an 11-year period.
Related story: Investment Guru’s 4,000% Annual Return Promise Costs Investors $2 Million
Community Trust Exploited
Through YouTube Presence
Rawjani
built credibility within the Ismaili community partly through his online
presence. He maintained YouTube and Discord channels featuring daily trading
sessions, giving investors the impression they could watch him generate their
returns in real-time.
When
concerned investors demanded explanations for missed payments, Rawjani offered
false reassurances. In May 2024, he told clients that bank investigations had
frozen $1.35 million that would be released by mid-June. Court documents show
the bank had already closed Trade with Ayasa’s accounts and remitted a final
balance of just $32,471.
In one
particularly brazen deception, Rawjani showed a worried investor what appeared
to be a $14 million brokerage account balance on his laptop screen. The
investor later discovered Rawjani had displayed the investor’s own personal
account, with an actual balance of only $400.
Legal Structure Designed
to Confuse
Rawjani
operated through multiple limited liability companies across three states, all
using variations of the “Trade with Ayasa” name. The Texas entity was
dissolved for tax delinquency in 2022, followed by the Wyoming version in 2024,
yet Rawjani continued using the dissolved companies’ names on investor
agreements.
This
corporate shell game helped obscure the true nature of his operations while
maintaining an appearance of legitimacy for new investors.
The SEC is
seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil
penalties against Rawjani and his various Trade with Ayasa entities. The case
was filed in the federal district court in Dallas.
Some time ago, the Commission also charged the
adviser John Woods and his companies, which had raised more than $110 million from over
400 investors as part of the alleged Ponzi scheme.
