Christian Meissenn, 44, of Suffield, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty in U.S. District of Connecticut Court to conspiracy and tax evasion charges in an ongoing investigation into securities fraud, authorities said.
Meissenn, also known by the last name “Nigohossian,” and others conspired to defraud investors through a stock “pump and dump” scheme between 2009 and July 2016, said Deirdre M. Daly, U.S. States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. The co-conspirators induced investors to purchase securities by making false and misleading representations in calls, emails and press releases about securities and their issuing companies that caused the price of securities to become falsely inflated. Most of the issuing companies were shell companies controlled by Meissenn’s associates, Daly said.
After selling their own shares at a profit, the conspirators allowed the price of the securities to fall, leaving investors with worthless and unsalable stock. As a result, victim investors lost millions of dollars, Daly said.
Between 2011 and 2015, Meissenn earned approximately $4.4 million through this scheme and diverted a large portion of the profits into the trust account of an attorney rather than a bank account in his own name, she added.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years.
Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven scheduled sentencing for Jan. 31, 2017. At sentencing, Meissenn will be ordered to pay restitution to his victims, as well as back taxes, interest and penalties to the Internal Revenue Service.
