A North Andover lawyer and former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives was arrested Monday in connection with a scheme to defraud a business-to-business supply company based in India of millions of dollars and using client money for business and personal expenses, including the purchase of a $2.7 million home in Boca Raton, Fla.
Fifty-year-old Abhijit Das, also known as “Beej,” was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston a week ago on 10 counts of wire fraud. Das was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and appeared in the Southern District of Florida. In June 2021, he was arrested for allegedly violating the Federal Election Campaign Act and false statements.
According to the indictment, Das was a lawyer and principal manager of a boutique law and advisory firm called Troca Global Advisors with offices in Boston and New York. Beginning in or about May 2020, Das began providing legal representation and escrow services to two twin brothers and their logistical supply company in India that was coordinating large shipments personal protective equipment during the pandemic.
The indictment alleges Das diverted more than $5 million in escrow funds from his clients’ accounts to other accounts and used the money for personal expenses—including expenses for his law firm, a yacht owned by one of his hotels and $2.7 million for his Boca Raton home. Das allegedly persuaded his clients to transfer funds to accounts he controlled in multi-step, layered transactions under the guise of legal advice about the risk of potential litigation and provided clients with fraudulent and forged account statements to conceal the scheme.
The indictment further alleges Das committed nine of the 10 counts of wire fraud while on court mandated pre-trial release conditions resulting from his June 2021 indictment. That earlier indictment charged Das with campaign finance violations, embezzlement of campaign funds and making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission.