Vuk Vukovic, founder of New York hedge fund Oraclum Capital LLC, was charged by federal prosecutors with lying to investors about the fund's performance. The 38-year-old, who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford, distributed statements showing inflated returns and sent a phony account statement to one investor claiming a higher net asset value than actually existed, prosecutors said.

"Vukovic attracted investors to his fund and lulled them into keeping their money invested by reporting high rates of return that were not real," said Jamie Mc Donald, the US Attorney in Manhattan. He was charged with securities fraud and wire fraud, each carrying up to 20 years in prison. He appeared in federal court on Thursday and was released on $200,000 bond.

Vukovic said the firm started as an effort to predict election results, then launched the hedge fund in 2023 with $700,000, reaching $75 million in 2.5 years. The government alleged he lied about returns in the Orca Bason Fund starting in 2024. The SEC began probing Oraclum a year ago; documents given to the agency didn't match those from the third-party administrator. Authorities searched Oraclum's Manhattan offices on Wednesday, and Vukovic admitted to investigators that brokerage statements sent to at least one investor were false.