Federal regulators charged a 40-year-old Dallas-area options trader with running an $18 million Ponzi scheme that primarily targeted members of his own religious community in North Texas.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against Arsalan Rawjani and his investment firm, Trade with Ayasa LLC, for allegedly promising guaranteed monthly returns of 3% to 5% from options trading while actually using new investor money to pay earlier clients.
Rawjani operated the scheme from 2021 through 2024, positioning himself as an experienced trader within the Ismaili Muslim community where he served as an active member and leader. Court documents show he raised approximately $18 million from investors during the three-year period.
Trading Claims Don’t Match Bank Records
The SEC’s complaint reveals a significant gap between Rawjani’s promises and his actual trading activity. While he claimed investor funds would be pooled for profitable options trading, bank records show only about $1 million of the $18 million raised ever reached a brokerage account for actual trading.
Of that $1 million sent to brokers, less than $166,000 returned as trading profits, nowhere near enough to fund the guaranteed monthly payments promised to dozens of investors.
“Rawjani falsely represented to investors and potential investors that he operated a successful pooled-investment program that offered guaranteed monthly dividend payments as well as principal protection,” the SEC stated in its complaint.
Instead of generating returns through trading expertise, Rawjani relied on classic Ponzi scheme mechanics. When Trade with Ayasa’s bank account held just $41,916 in April 2022, two new investments totaling $45,000 arrived the next day. Within two weeks, the firm paid out $55,000 in dividends to existing investors.
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Personal Spending Drained Investment Pool
Court filings detail how Rawjani diverted millions in investor funds for personal use. Between April 2021 and March 2024, he withdrew $4.3 million for himself from the main Trade with Ayasa account, while sending another $226,000 to individuals sharing his surname.
Bank records show checks written to Rawjani with memo lines reading “Commission,” “Monthly Commission,” and “April Bonus.” His wife received payments marked “Hawaii Trip,” “Commission/canada Trip,” and consulting fees, despite providing no actual services to the firm.
The scheme began unraveling in late 2023 when Rawjani could no longer attract enough new investors to fund the promised payments. Checks started bouncing, yet he continued soliciting new clients through June 2024, raising more than $2 million during a period when he couldn’t pay existing investors.
Stories about alleged fraudsters exploiting local communities with investment programs that seem too good to be true are the bread and butter of the SEC. FinanceMagnates.com recently reported that the regulator recovered nearly $4 million from the widow of a deceased investment adviser who ran a Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors out of $29 million over an 11-year period.
Related story: Investment Guru’s 4,000% Annual Return Promise Costs Investors $2 Million
Community Trust Exploited Through YouTube Presence
Rawjani built credibility within the Ismaili community partly through his online presence. He maintained YouTube and Discord channels featuring daily trading sessions, giving investors the impression they could watch him generate their returns in real-time.
When concerned investors demanded explanations for missed payments, Rawjani offered false reassurances. In May 2024, he told clients that bank investigations had frozen $1.35 million that would be released by mid-June. Court documents show the bank had already closed Trade with Ayasa’s accounts and remitted a final balance of just $32,471.
In one particularly brazen deception, Rawjani showed a worried investor what appeared to be a $14 million brokerage account balance on his laptop screen. The investor later discovered Rawjani had displayed the investor’s own personal account, with an actual balance of only $400.
Legal Structure Designed to Confuse
Rawjani operated through multiple limited liability companies across three states, all using variations of the “Trade with Ayasa” name. The Texas entity was dissolved for tax delinquency in 2022, followed by the Wyoming version in 2024, yet Rawjani continued using the dissolved companies’ names on investor agreements.
This corporate shell game helped obscure the true nature of his operations while maintaining an appearance of legitimacy for new investors.
The SEC is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties against Rawjani and his various Trade with Ayasa entities. The case was filed in the federal district court in Dallas.
Some time ago, the Commission also charged the adviser John Woods and his companies, which had raised more than $110 million from over 400 investors as part of the alleged Ponzi scheme.