TRENTON — Attorney General Jennifer Davenport announced that a Middlesex County man was sentenced on June 18 to seven years in state prison for defrauding investors of approximately $7.7 million in a securities fraud scheme involving fake fuel companies.

Shahid Javed, 41, of Old Bridge, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before Superior Court Judge Ralph E. Amirata in Morris County on April 15, 2026, to two counts of second-degree securities fraud and one count of second-degree theft by deception. In addition to the prison term, Judge Amirata ordered Javed to pay $250,000 in restitution. Javed and a codefendant were indicted on July 23, 2024; the charges against the codefendant remain pending.

“This case represents our continuing effort to ensure that individuals who engage in securities fraud and complex financial crimes against vulnerable victims are held accountable in New Jersey,” said Attorney General Davenport. “The defendant stole from hardworking New Jerseyans who were simply looking for ways to invest their money wisely.”

“The defendant admitted his role in leading a complex scheme to defraud investors of millions of dollars to line his own pockets,” said DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton. “He used dishonest tactics and made false claims to swindle his victims. He must now face the consequences of his actions.”

“This office remains steadfast in its commitment to root out sophisticated frauds such as these that exploit investors trying to help businesses grow in our state,” said Legal Chief Pablo Quiñones of the Office of Securities Fraud and Financial Crimes Prosecutions (OSFFCP). “This sentence demonstrates the serious consequences such fraudsters will face in New Jersey when they are brought to justice.”

At his plea hearing, Javed admitted that from March 2018 through May 2023, he conducted a fraud scheme to steal approximately $7.7 million from investors. He admitted that initially he deceptively obtained $640,000 in purported loans from the victims for his company, East Coast Energy Partners, to supposedly purchase and sell jet fuel. Instead, he diverted the funds for his personal use.

Javed subsequently created two fake New Jersey companies — Prime Petroleum Group LLC (PPG) and Petro Traders Group LLC (PTG) — and falsely claimed they generated substantial investment returns through the purchase and sale of fuel products and ownership interests in an oil refinery in Texas. To perpetuate the fraud, he impersonated multiple fictitious employees from these fake companies to solicit millions of dollars in investments from the victims.

Javed admitted to misleading investors with promises of investment returns of up to 50 percent plus the return of their original investment. Instead, Javed perpetrated a Ponzi scheme by paying investors approximately $1 million in purported returns with their own funds to induce them to invest more money. Javed knowingly used the investors’ funds for his personal benefit, including paying his creditors, obtaining a Bentley automobile, and purchasing a house and a boat.

Deputy Attorney General Jack Daily handled the prosecution of this matter for the OSFFCP.

The prosecution stemmed from an investigation conducted by Deputy Attorney General Conner Oulette and detectives and investigators within the Division of Criminal Justice assigned to the OSFFCP, including Detective Nicholas Wiemken, Special Investigator Sean McCarthy, and Civil Investigator Gina Lemanowicz-Pusloski.

Attorney General Davenport thanked the Woodbridge Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

Defense counsel: Christopher R. Fried, Esq.