A federal grand jury indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in Chicago charges Raed Naser, 41, of Crown Point, Indiana, with 11 counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering stemming from two separate schemes that allegedly cost victims approximately $4 million [1]. Naser operated a freight transport company headquartered in Orland Park, Illinois [1][2]. He entered a not-guilty plea at arraignment [1].
The first scheme involved Naser's freight business, where prosecutors allege he submitted false invoices to clients for shipping services that were never performed [1][2]. The second scheme centered on the sale of bakery franchises, where Naser allegedly inflated the valuations presented to a buyer to extract fraudulent proceeds from the transactions [1][2]. The wire fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, covers schemes to defraud executed through interstate wire communications, and federal money laundering charges under 18 U.S.C. § 1956 typically follow allegations that proceeds from a specified unlawful activity were concealed or transferred to disguise their origin. Each wire fraud count carries a statutory maximum of 20 years' imprisonment; each money laundering count carries the same exposure.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, two agencies that frequently partner on mail and wire fraud matters involving financial institutions or commercial transactions conducted through the postal system [1][2]. The prosecution is being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, led by Andrew S. Boutros [1]. The indictment reflects a coordinated, dual-agency investigation before the matter was presented to a grand jury.
With a not-guilty plea on the record, the case moves into the pretrial discovery phase. Defense counsel will have access to the government's evidence, including the invoices, financial records, and communications underlying both schemes. The prosecution must establish that Naser knowingly and intentionally transmitted or caused to be transmitted wire communications in furtherance of a scheme to defraud, a burden that typically turns on documentary evidence and, in franchise-related cases, expert valuation testimony. No trial date has been publicly reported.