Queens Investment Advisor Sentenced to 78 Months In Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Securities Fraud Scheme

Today, in federal court in Central Islip, Surage Roshan Perera, the founder and Executive Director of Janues Capital, Inc. in Bellerose, Queens, was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 78 months’ imprisonment for securities fraud in connection with running a Ponzi scheme in which the defendant used investor money to pay redemptions to prior investors and his personal expenses, and fund his highly speculative day trading. Perera pleaded guilty to the charge in October 2023.  As part of his sentence, Perera was ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.

“Perera’s sentence is just punishment for causing more than $6 million in losses to the victims who are now saddled with debts, some who lost their life savings and others who have been forced to delay retirement all because of the lies he peddled to them about their investments,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “I commend the members of my Office and the FBI Special Agents for disrupting the defendant’s Ponzi scheme so that he could not wreak even more financial harm and holding him accountable for his criminal conduct.”

Mr. Peace thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group for their assistance with the case.

“Surage Perera pays the price for using his relationships with the victims to swindle them of over $6 million and casting several into a lifetime of debt. Today’s sentence reaffirms the FBI’s promise to uphold financial integrity and to pursue those who create fraudulent schemes for personal gain,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.

As alleged in the indictment and set forth in court filings, between February 2022 and March 2023, Perera abused his position of trust as an investment advisor to convince unsuspecting investors to part with their hard-earned money for what they believed were safe, well-performing investments.  For example, Perara falsely told one victim (“Jane Doe”) that he had relationships with large institutions and could purchase stock in companies that traded on the NASDAQ and NYSE at discounted prices.  He also told Jane Doe that her investment was  low-risk and he would use her investment capital to purchase shares in those public-traded companies.  As a result, Jane Doe gave Perera more than $4.2 million.  In reality, Perera was operating a Ponzi scheme.  Instead of investing as promised, Perera misappropriated those funds by, among other things, paying redemptions to prior investors, paying personal expenses and funding his day trading.  To conceal his fraudulent scheme, Perera sent fraudulent confirmation notices and account statements to investors.  In the end, Perera caused 15 victims, some of whom were his close friends, to lose approximately $6.3 million. 

 The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Caffarone is in charge of the prosecution. 

The Defendant:

SURAGE ROSHAN PERERA
Age:  51
Bellerose, Queens

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-129 (GRB)