Nawabi Forex Fraud Indictment: FBI Seeks Victims

Updated September 1, 2026

The Nawabi forex fraud indictment charges Eshaq M. Nawabi with eight counts of wire fraud in an alleged foreign-currency investment scheme involving at least $2.7 million. The FBI is seeking additional potential victims who invested through Nawabi, Hyperion Consulting Inc., Nawabi Enterprise(s) or related representatives. The criminal charges are allegations, no criminal restitution order has been entered, and submitting the FBI form does not guarantee compensation.

What Happened in the Nawabi Forex Fraud Indictment

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced on August 27 that a federal grand jury had returned an eight-count indictment charging Eshaq M. Nawabi, 27, of Salida, California, with wire fraud.

According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme involved people who provided money to Nawabi believing it would be invested in the foreign-currency exchange, or forex, market.

The indictment is a criminal charging document. It does not establish guilt. DOJ states that Nawabi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

What Prosecutors Allege About the Forex Investments

DOJ says the charged conduct ran from approximately October 2019 through February 2022.

Prosecutors allege that Nawabi represented himself as a successful forex trader and persuaded victims to provide thousands of dollars for investment.

According to the government, investors received monthly statements showing substantial recurring profits.

Federal prosecutors allege those statements were fabricated and that the money was not invested as represented.

DOJ says investor funds instead were used for personal spending and to continue operating the alleged scheme.

The government’s announcement specifically cites leases for luxury vehicles including multiple Lamborghinis, a Ferrari and a McLaren.

How Much Money Is Alleged in the Criminal Case?

The Justice Department describes the pending criminal scheme as involving at least $2.7 million.

That figure should be described as the amount allegedly obtained through the charged scheme, not as a court-entered restitution award or guaranteed victim-loss total.

A criminal indictment may contain allegations that later are contested, narrowed or resolved differently through court proceedings.

Who the FBI Is Seeking

The FBI’s official Nawabi victim-information form is directed to people who may have invested through:

• Eshaq Mohammad Nawabi;
• Hyperion Consulting Inc.;
• Nawabi Enterprise;
• Nawabi Enterprises; or
• other businesses or representatives associated with Nawabi.

The FBI says it is seeking potential victims connected to forex investments primarily during a 2018–2022 timeframe.

That investigative outreach window is broader than the October 2019 through February 2022 period described in DOJ’s criminal announcement. The difference should not be treated as an error: the FBI can seek information beyond the exact conduct charged in an indictment.

What the FBI Form Asks About

The FBI questionnaire asks potential victims about the investment relationship and records they may possess.

Questions include:

• whether the person invested with Nawabi or the named businesses;
• which investment pool was used;
• the initial investment date;
• the total amount invested;
• whether funds were sent by wire, check, bitcoin, cash or another method;
• the representatives involved;
• claims made about expected returns; and
• whether the investor has communications, agreements, statements or transaction records.

The FBI also provides an official email address for relevant supporting materials on its victim-information page.

Submitting the FBI Form Does Not Guarantee Restitution

The FBI states that participation in the questionnaire is voluntary.

The information may help federal investigators identify a person as a potential victim and may result in follow-up contact.

However, completing the form does not itself:

• establish legal victim status;
• prove a financial loss;
• create a restitution order;
• guarantee repayment;
• establish a public claims fund; or
• promise that the FBI will recover the person’s investment.

The Separate CFTC Case Is Already Resolved

The pending criminal case should be kept separate from an earlier Commodity Futures Trading Commission enforcement action involving Nawabi, Nawabi Enterprise and Hyperion Consulting Inc.

In April 2024, the CFTC announced a federal consent order requiring the defendants to pay $4.5 million in restitution and a separate $4.5 million civil monetary penalty.

The CFTC said that order followed a December 2023 consent order finding the defendants liable for fraud, imposing permanent trading and registration restrictions and resolving other aspects of the civil case.

The April 2024 monetary order fully resolved the CFTC action filed in 2022.

Why $2.7M, $4.5M and $9M Should Not Be Added Together

These figures describe different legal proceedings and different types of monetary amounts.

The pending criminal indictment alleges at least $2.7 million connected to the criminal scheme described by DOJ.

The separate CFTC civil judgment required:

• $4.5 million in restitution; and
• $4.5 million as a civil monetary penalty.

The civil penalty is money imposed as a regulatory sanction. It is not an additional $4.5 million victim-refund fund.

Those amounts therefore should not be added to the criminal $2.7 million allegation and marketed as a new $11.7 million consumer compensation pool.

Does the CFTC Restitution Order Guarantee Full Recovery?

No.

The CFTC specifically cautions that even when a court orders restitution, victims may not recover all losses if defendants do not have sufficient assets or funds.

The existence of a $4.5 million restitution order therefore is different from confirmation that $4.5 million has already been collected and distributed to victims.

Could There Be Criminal Restitution Later?

Potentially, but none has been entered in the pending criminal case.

The Justice Department’s federal restitution guidance explains that a convicted offender may be ordered to reimburse victims for qualifying crime-related financial losses.

Before sentencing, investigators, prosecutors and the U.S. Probation Office can gather victim-loss information.

If restitution is ordered, the sentencing judge enters the restitution order.

Even then, DOJ cautions that full recovery can be difficult when a defendant has insufficient assets, and victims may receive partial payments over a long period.

What Potential Victims Should Do Now

1. Use the official FBI form. Access the questionnaire through an FBI .gov page rather than a link in an unsolicited message.
2. Preserve investment agreements. Keep contracts, subscription documents and any materials describing the investment.
3. Save account statements. Preserve monthly statements showing purported returns or account balances.
4. Document every transfer. Keep wire confirmations, canceled checks, cryptocurrency transaction records, cash receipts and bank statements.
5. Preserve communications. Save texts, emails, messaging-app conversations, advertisements and representative names.
6. Calculate actual net loss carefully. Separate money actually invested from amounts shown only as profits on statements and subtract money that was actually returned.
7. Keep original records. Provide copies when appropriate and retain originals unless a verified authority specifically instructs otherwise.

Be Alert for Forex Recovery Scams

People identified as investment-fraud victims may be targeted again by recovery scammers.

Be skeptical of anyone who claims that FBI, DOJ or CFTC funds are waiting but requires payment first for:

• taxes;
• legal fees;
• release charges;
• cryptocurrency deposits;
• verification fees; or
• account-unfreezing costs.

A legitimate federal victim-information questionnaire does not require a victim to provide a password, one-time security code, cryptocurrency seed phrase or private wallet key.

How to Check a Future Forex Investment

The CFTC recommends researching a forex dealer before depositing money or sharing sensitive personal information.

Investors can check registration and disciplinary history using NFA BASIC.

The CFTC’s forex customer advisory identifies warning signs including unusually high or guaranteed returns, unregistered dealers, opaque trading platforms and demands for additional payments before withdrawals are released.

A professional website, luxury vehicles, impressive account statements or personal referrals do not establish that money actually is being traded as represented.

Nawabi Forex Fraud Indictment FAQ

Has Eshaq Nawabi been convicted?

No. The current federal criminal case is at the indictment stage. Nawabi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

How many criminal charges were announced?

The Justice Department announced an eight-count federal indictment charging wire fraud.

How much money does DOJ allege was involved?

The criminal announcement describes an alleged scheme involving at least $2.7 million.

Is the FBI accepting information from potential victims?

Yes. The FBI has an active official questionnaire for people who believe they invested with Nawabi, Hyperion Consulting Inc., Nawabi Enterprise(s) or related representatives.

Is there a criminal refund fund?

No public criminal restitution fund, guaranteed payment program or claims deadline has been announced in connection with the pending indictment.

What happened in the separate CFTC case?

A federal court ordered $4.5 million in restitution and a separate $4.5 million civil monetary penalty in the resolved CFTC civil enforcement action.

Bottom Line

The Nawabi forex fraud indictment charges Eshaq M. Nawabi with eight wire-fraud counts stemming from an alleged investment scheme involving at least $2.7 million.

The FBI is actively seeking additional potential victims, but its questionnaire is an investigative and victim-identification tool—not a guaranteed compensation claim form.

The pending criminal case must also be kept separate from the earlier CFTC civil case, where a federal court already imposed $4.5 million in restitution and a $4.5 million civil monetary penalty.

People who believe they invested through Nawabi or the named businesses should use the official FBI form, preserve original investment and payment records and avoid anyone demanding money to release supposed restitution.