Iran executes man convicted of leading massive investment scam

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran executes the ringleader of a vast investment scam that defrauded tens of thousands of people through a car-buying network, the judiciary says.

Mohammad Reza Ghaffari, owner of the Rezaayat Khodro Taravat Novin company, is hanged after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence for “large-scale disruption of the country’s economic system” and network fraud, the judiciary’s Mizan Online portal says.

The scheme, launched in 2013 in northern Qazvin province, promised cars at below-market prices and later expanded into real estate and investment plans.

Prosecutors accused Ghaffari and his associates of taking “vast sums from the public” and using new deposits to pay returns to early clients.

The judiciary says the scheme involved sums equivalent to around $350 million at current exchange rates.

Only “around four percent” of customers received a vehicle, the judiciary says, adding that a court found Ghaffari guilty of undermining the national economy.

The case drew more than 28,000 complainants and involved 28 defendants.