TRENTON, N.J. — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced a civil enforcement action on Friday against a Bergen County man and his Brooklyn-based associate, alleging they defrauded a childhood friend of one defendant out of her retirement savings in an investment scheme tied to their software startup, Bowmo, Inc.
According to the complaint filed in Superior Court in Bergen County, Michael Lakshin, of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and Edward Aizman, of Brooklyn, New York, misrepresented their company’s prospects to convince an investor to liquidate her $90,000 retirement account to fund the purported expansion of Bowmo, a job recruiting software service. Instead, prosecutors allege, the funds were largely diverted for personal expenditures, including cash advances, a luxury bed-and-breakfast stay, and purchases from a Jaguar Land Rover dealership and a high-end designer store.
The defendants allegedly persuaded the investor, a childhood friend of Lakshin, to invest $84,681.19 in a convertible note, promising higher returns than her retirement account could provide. Lakshin reportedly claimed that Bowmo was a successful company that had made him wealthy, pressuring the victim to trust the investment. However, state officials say the funds were not used to grow the business but instead financed the personal lifestyles of Lakshin and Aizman.
Attorney General Platkin condemned the defendants’ actions in a statement. “The defendants in this case shamelessly bankrolled their lavish lifestyles with someone else’s hard-earned retirement savings,” he said. “This lawsuit sends a clear message that this kind of blatant exploitation of investors will not go unpunished in New Jersey.”
The lawsuit seeks to bar Lakshin, Aizman, and Bowmo from selling securities in New Jersey, impose civil monetary penalties, and recover restitution for the victim, including interest and legal expenses. It also demands disgorgement of profits obtained through the fraudulent scheme.
The Division of Consumer Affairs, led by Director Cari Fais, highlighted the calculated nature of the alleged fraud. “The defendants callously used a personal connection to lure an unsuspecting victim into a money grab scheme disguised as an investment opportunity,” Fais said.
The civil complaint details how the fraudulent activity spanned from April to August 2020. Prosecutors claim the defendants exploited the victim’s trust and her lack of familiarity with securities investments to misappropriate her life savings.