BOSTON – Brothers Nick Ashtar-Zadeh, 22, and Nika Ashtar-Zadeh, 23, from Dracut, have been charged and agreed to plead guilty to a fraudulent scheme involving an online cosmetics company. They allegedly manipulated sales on Amazon and eBay to profit from the company’s products.
The Ashtar-Zadeh brothers each face one count of wire fraud, with plea hearings yet to be scheduled. Court documents indicate that from 2020 to 2021, they operated online stores that sold cosmetics at or below the company’s list price.
Unbeknownst to customers, the brothers enrolled them in the company’s 30-day trial program by entering their personal information on the company’s website. After shipping the products to these buyers, the brothers reportedly used payment methods that processed the initial charge of $19.95 but failed when subsequent payments were attempted.
This operation allegedly affected hundreds of buyers and cost the cosmetics company hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses. Wire fraud carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, alongside fines and supervised release.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen announced the charges. The prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb from the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit.
The allegations remain unproven in court, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
