Kumar Arun Neppalli, 56, was arrested today upon the unsealing of a 23-count indictment in connection with an investment fraud scam. Neppalli faces up to twenty years in prison per count and potential fines.
According to the indictment, Neppalli allegedly relied on his good standing within the Indian-American community in Cary, North Carolina to defraud at least 12 victims or sets of victims into giving him funds under the false pretense that he would be investing their money in a legitimate real estate development in the Orange County, North Carolina area. Neppalli allegedly used the funds from these victims to pay back earlier investors who believed that he was returning their original investment and legitimate capital gains. Returning capital to earlier investors by defrauding new investors is commonly known as a “Ponzi” scheme.