The U.S. authorities have unsealed a complaint charging Vuk Vukovic, founder of the hedge fund Oraclum Capital LLC and CEO of the Orca Bason Fund, with securities fraud and wire fraud. Mr Vukovic was arraigned on Friday before magistrate judge Jennifer Willis.

As alleged in the Complaint unsealed in Manhattan federal court, Oraclum is a New York-based hedge fund that operates and manages the Orca Bason Fund.  

The Orca Bason Fund purports to make investment decisions “using wisdom of crowds and a network analysis of social media bubbles to predict where markets will end up”.  

Since at least 2024, however, Mr Vukovic has engaged in a scheme to obtain investor money by misrepresenting the Orca Bason Fund’s returns.

Mr Vukovic’s misrepresentations include sending false monthly account statements to investors showing their investment in the Orca Bason Fund earning greater returns than it actually did, and sending falsified brokerage account statements to a potential investor reflecting a higher net asset value and greater returns than actually existed.

Mr Vukovic, 38, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

“Vuk Vukovic allegedly used interstate commerce to carry out a deceptive scheme involving the purchase and sale of securities,” said FBI assistant director in charge James Barnacle. “These allegations represent a serious breach of market integrity, and the FBI remains committed to enforcing securities laws to protect investors.”