Syed Arbab was a regular university student. That is, until he ran into some legal trouble. That landed Syed to get featured on HBO’s Generation Hustle. The show puts true crime together with character studies to reveal what makes people tick. Fame, money, power: everyone wants it, but at what cost? Syed’s is the seventh Generation Hustle episode in the series. Get to know more about Syed now.
Get to Know Syed Arbab
1) Syed Arbab was a normal college kid. Arbab was a graduate student at the time of his run in with the law. He was completing his Masters at Georgia State University. He was 23 years old when his scheming landed him in hot water.
2) According to his LinkedIn – which, shockingly, is still up – he was a teaching assistant at the university. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Georgia in 2019. Apparently, he found the time to try and make a quick buck. This took place during his “frat boy” days.
3) Syed admitted that during his time at UGA, he conned investors – some of which were fellow students – to invest money in his hedge funds. This took place for about a year, from May 2018-2019. He misrepresented a whole slew of data and information to get what he wanted out of his investors. Crazy thing is, no one suspected a thing.
4) Arbab stated that he spent most of the money he received on personal items, like retail goods. He gambled some of it too, over the course of 3 trips to Las Vegas. He operated his “hedge funds” out of his fraternity house! Court documents state that he raked in a million dollars from his victims.
5) Syed’s episode is titled: “Frat Boy Ponzi.” The description reads: “Shortly after pledging his college fraternity, Midwest math whiz Syed Arbab uses funds raised from fellow students, alumni, and high school friends to start a hedge fund. Flush with cash, Syed becomes a campus legend, until a market crash causes his hedge fund (and life) to implode. As this stereotypical “good kid” breaks bad – trafficking cocaine, packing heat, and defrauding investors – the feds close in.” George Plamondon directs.
To see all of Syed’s story, stream Generation Hustle on April 22, only on HBO Max.
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