NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - A Harvard Business School

graduate accused of defrauding fellow alumni out of millions of

dollars by claiming he could identify where Warren Buffett's

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) would invest next has been indicted

for fraud, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said.

Vladimir Artamonov, 46, formerly of Manhattan, was arrested

on Thursday in Elkridge, Maryland, where he now lives, and

charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and investment adviser

fraud.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has also

investigated Artamonov, and in February 2024 won a court order

blocking his alleged fraud from continuing.

Philip Cohen, a lawyer representing Artamonov in James'

case, declined to comment on the indictment.

Cohen has been serving as a so-called "guardian ad litem,"

after Artamonov claimed to suffer from debilitating mental

health including "ongoing psychosis."

Prosecutors said Artamonov told investors he knew which

stocks Berkshire would buy by reviewing state regulatory filings

from the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate's insurance units.

Authorities said Artamonov promised his "air tight" insight

enabled him to buy stocks before Berkshire revealed its own

purchases, generating returns of 500% or more with little risk,

through a strategy he called Project Information Arbitrage.

Instead, the 2003 Harvard graduate allegedly bought risky

short-term options that had nothing to do with Berkshire, and

when investors demanded their money back he repaid nothing or

used money from newer investors in a Ponzi-like fashion.

Prosecutors said Artamonov misappropriated more than $4

million, used some for personal expenses, and repaid less than

$400,000.

"Vladimir Artamonov betrayed investors, including friends

and former Ivy League classmates, by promising a low-risk,

high-return investment strategy, when in fact he gambled away

investor money," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in Manhattan said in

a statement.

Prices of stocks that Berkshire buys regularly rise after

the investments are disclosed.

For example, shares of health insurer UnitedHealth Group ( UNH )

rose 12% on August 15, after Berkshire revealed an

unexpected $1.57 billion stake.

Berkshire and Buffett have not been accused of wrongdoing.

Buffett's assistant did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

According to court papers, Artamonov was also a managing

partner of the hedge fund Coastal Investment Management through

at least February 2023.

The case is U.S. v. Artamonov, U.S. District Court, Southern

District of New York, No. 25-cr-00420.