A federal grand jury indicted TelexFree LLC co-founders and owners James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler Wednesday on fraud charges tied to allegations that their company operated a massive pyramid scheme, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The indictment expands upon the original criminal case against Merrill and Wanzeler, who were each charged in May with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the alleged pyramid scheme, which prosecutors say caused total losses of more than $1 billion. The indictment also adds eight counts of wire fraud stemming from transfers of about $10 million in TelexFree funds to the two men's personal accounts. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
