Man sentenced in investor fraud

A Northridge man who defrauded nine investors in a multistate scheme was sentenced to 54 months in prison Monday in a U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Wash., federal investigators said.

Yahya Najib Nawabi, also known as Alex Nawabi, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements to law enforcement, according to a news release from the IRS Criminal Investigation unit. Nawabi, 33, was also ordered to pay $324,700 in restitution to the victims.

Investigators say Nawabi, a native of Afghanistan, pretended to be an executive officer of AMX Global Funding, a corporation that arranged finances for the purchases of residential and commercial real estate, heavy industrial equipment, golf course construction, timberland and precious stones, officials said.

Nawabi and his accomplice, girlfriend Beena Bedi, took down payments for loans or investments and laundered the money through multiple businesses and personal bank accounts, the statement said.

At least four of the nine investors were from California.

Officials say Bedi will be sentenced next year.