CRIME

CEO of Las Cruces aerospace company charged with fraud, embezzlement

Sun-News Reports
Las Cruces Sun-News
Dumitru Popescu

LAS CRUCES - ARCA Space Corporation CEO Dumitru Popescu was arrested last week as part of an ongoing fraud investigation.

Popescu, 40, was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Jonesboro, Georgia, and was extradited to Doña Ana County over the weekend. He is being held at the Doña Ana County Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.

He was booked on 12 counts of fraud, three counts of embezzlement and one count of misleading filings. It is unclear if the charges have any connection to ARCA, the aerospace engineering company that relocated to Las Cruces in 2014 from Romania.

The company made national headlines in 2015 when it unveiled the ArcaBoard, a hoverboard designed for personal use that went into production last year and retails for $14,900. ARCA did not not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Dumitru Popescu, president and CEO of ARCA Space Corporation, tests an ArcaBoard recently in Las Cruces.

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A criminal complaint against Popescu was filed last month in 3rd Judicial District Court.

The charges against Popescu are the result of investigation conducted by the New Mexico Securities Division. The special agent in charge of the case declined to comment when reached Monday, saying the investigation was still ongoing.

The complaint alleges Popescu defrauded Michael Persico, the CEO and founder of the Chicago-based telecommunications company Anova Technologies, in two separate incidents, between 2015 and 2016, in amounts exceeding $20,000. The Sun-News has been unable to reach Anova for comment.

Popescu also is facing two counts of fraud over $2,500 and one count of fraud over $500, in additional to seven counts of securities fraud. He also is facing two counts of embezzlement over $2,500 and one count of embezzlement over $500.

According to court records, Popescu is scheduled for a status conference Nov. 20 in District Court in Las Cruces.

Earlier this year, the Sun-News reported ARCA was poised to expand its operations. In an interview in February, Popescu said ARCA had outgrown its space at the Las Cruces International Airport and was in the process of opening a new facility on the city's east side.

In 2015, it was announced ARCA would be getting funding from the state in the form of Local Economic Development Act dollars. The company received the allotted $60,000 from the city of Las Cruces, but missed out on the promised $500,000 in state funding due to misreporting existing employees and new hires, the Sun-News previously reported.

The New Mexico Economic Development Department confirmed it had anticipated awarding LEDA funding to ARCA. However, ARCA did not meet "due diligence standards or supply the department with the necessary documentation to complete the process," according to a department spokesman.

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It remains unclear if the city of Las Cruces will try to recover the funds it gave to ARCA, given the criminal charges against Popescu.

"The City cannot comment other than to say the case is under active investigation. The NM Securities Division and the Las Cruces Police Department are working together. The City of Las Cruces has been interviewed and is cooperating fully with both agencies," city spokesman Udell Vigil said in a statement.

City Manager Stuart Ed said Monday the city had given ARCA about $57,000 of the $60,000 in LEDA funds.

It was not known if Popescu, who has a Romanian passport, had an attorney.

Business editor Jason Gibbs contributed to this report.

Carlos Andres López can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter.