Execs From Now-Defunct GigaTrust Arrested in $50M Fraud Scheme

The former founder and CEO, CFO, and vice president of business development of endpoint email security service provider GigaTrust were indicted for their alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar financial fraud scheme that included misleading investors and impersonating a customer, auditor, and an attorney. 

Robert Bernardi, founder and CEO of the now-defunct GigaMedia Access Corp. in which GigaTrust operated, former CFO Nihat Cardak, and Sunil Chandra, former VP of business development, are now in federal custody. They face charges for false and misleading representation of the company's finances in a scheme that raised some $50 million from investors and lenders via phony documents and impersonating a customer, auditor, and an attorney.

GigaTrust filed for bankruptcy in November 2019.

"Luring investors under false pretenses and misappropriating their money for personal gain is exactly what Giga Trust's [sic] defendants are charged with today. The money they allegedly made from this scheme totals tens of millions of dollars. No matter how lucrative schemes of this nature may appear from the start, they will ultimately result in federal criminal charges," said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll in a statement.

All three men reside in Virginia. Bernardi, 68, and Cardak, 51, both face one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of aggravated identity theft. Chandra, 80, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and one count of aggravated identity theft.

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