HBS Alum Used Alumni Network to Scam Classmates Out of Millions, New York AG Says

Harvard Business School alum Vladimir Artamonov was accused of defrauding investors — whom he found primarily through the HBS alumni network — by New York Attorney General Letitia A. James in a February 23 filing.

Artamonov, who graduated from HBS in 2003, secured at least $2.9 million for an investment from at least 29 investors, many of whom he identified through the HBS alumni network, according to the filing.

A press release from James’ office said it secured a court order to stop Artamonov from “harming his investors through his fraudulent scheme,” by prohibiting him from withdrawing and transferring funds in his bank and brokerage accounts.

Artamonov did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. HBS Spokesperson Mark Cautela declined to comment.

By leveraging his connections within the HBS alumni network, Artamonov managed to solicit funds under the guise of an investment opportunity dubbed “Project Information Arbitrage” or the “Artamonov Fund,” James alleged.

According to the filing, Artamonov’s scheme had “tragic consequences” on investors from the beginning.

One of Artamonov’s investors committed suicide shorty after investing and losing $100,000 in the scheme, according to the investor’s brother.

James wrote that the brother informed Artamonov of the suicide, which apparently had little effect on Artamonov’s willingness to continue with the scheme.

The filing said Artamonov’s alleged ponzi scheme was predicated on the false claim that he could predict the investments of Berkshire Hathaway ahead of the market by scrutinizing public state insurance filings, likening it to “having a private time machine” or “getting tomorrow’s newspaper today.”

Artasmonov estimated returns of 500 to 1,000 percent, according to the filing.

In reality, the filing stated, Artamonov squandered millions of dollars and concealed the losses from his investors. To keep the fund going, Artamonov relied on funds from new investors’ to pay his existing clients while also allegedly diverting and misappropriating thousands of dollars for personal use.

—Staff writer Kyle Baek can be reached at kyle.baek@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @KBaek53453.

—Staff writer Benjamin Isaac can be reached at benjamin.isaac@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @benjaminisaac_1.