Ford Graham ’86, a former Princeton resident, was indicted for alleged involvement in multiple fraudulent schemes on Thursday, March 21st, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey.
Graham has been charged with 29 counts, including “14 counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of securities fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, nine counts of money laundering and one count of engaging in unlawful money transactions.” Graham did not respond to a request for an interview. The University also declined to comment, referring the ‘Prince’ to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
According to TapintoPrinceton, Graham had first been accused of fraud in 2019. The new lawsuit alleges that in activity dating back to 2012 and as recent as 2018, Graham defrauded multiple individuals and institutions, leading to possibly at least $6 million in losses.
More specifically, the press release alleges that, from December 2012 to 2013, Graham defrauded investors by holding “himself out as the owner, chief executive, chairman, manager, and/or principal member of dozens of corporate entities purporting to do business under an umbrella organization, Vulcan Capital Corporation (Vulcan).” On Graham’s TigerNet profile, he is listed as a Senior Managing Director of Vulcan.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that Graham misrepresented himself as a “highly successful financier,” and instead used the money for personal benefits like “international vacations.”
The allegations continue that from December 2017 to February 2018, Graham was involved in fraudulent credit card transactions, resulting in “tens of thousands of dollars of losses and the misappropriation of multiple victims’ personal identification information.” Overlapping with this timeframe are allegations of a “business email compromise scheme” from February 2017 to June 2018, wherein Graham is supposed to have engaged in sending fraudulent emails that “requested the victims to reroute the scheduled payments to different bank accounts that Graham and his conspirators controlled.”
Originating from Louisiana, Graham was initially a member of Princeton’s Class of 1985 and majored in geology. At Princeton, Graham was part of Colonial Club, the Varsity Swim Team, M.N.C., the University Band, and the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), according to the 1986 Nassau Herald. Running for class delegate in 1981, he promised to be a “fair, honest, open-minded and responsible member of the USG.” Graham placed fourth in that election and was not elected.
After graduation, he began work as a financial analyst at Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., according to an alumni survey in August 1986. He currently resides outside of Charlottesville, Va.
The numerous wire fraud, wire conspiracy, securities fraud, money laundering charges Graham faces each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison along with millions of dollars in fines altogether. Graham could face up to two years for each count of identity theft and ten for the charge of unlawful money transactions.
Christopher Bao is an assistant News editor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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