A Canadian and an Israeli citizen were detained at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg on suspicion of a major fraud, according to a law enforcement source cited by TASS.
On the previous day, officers from the Interpol liaison unit of the Main Directorate for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, along with regional police, detained the Israeli national described as Joshua Cartu, who was born on March 11, 1979, at Pulkovo. An agency source indicated that the United States had placed him on its international wanted list for grand fraud carried out via electronic communications, and he is now in custody. Russian authorities have notified their American colleagues about the arrest of Joshua Cartu.
$233 million plan
A Toronto-based magazine published in 2022 conducted an inquiry into Joshua Cartu and his brothers, revealing a network around Glenridge Capital. The firm advertised a pathway to profit in binary options trading, suggesting that a predicted asset increase could convert a $500 stake into about $850 in minutes. The company acknowledged risk yet claimed that staff would assist clients in solving problems and would take up to 40 percent of profits within three months. Several similar ventures operated across borders under Sandbox Cartus and generated approximately $233 million for the Cartu brothers.
Investors were lured by bonuses that encouraged larger deposits, while the fine print allowed withdrawals only after completing more than 1,000 high‑risk trades. When attempts were made to recover funds, managers offered excuses. One account briefly returned a portion of funds before the Glenridge Capital site vanished from the web, and inquiries went unanswered.
The article noted that Glenridge Capital was not licensed to trade binary options in the United States, so investors’ funds did not reach any formal exchange and were transferred to offshore accounts controlled by the Cartu brothers. They enjoyed a lavish lifestyle funded by these sums, including private jet travel, celebrity interactions, luxury cars, and upscale residences, with thousands of clients allegedly deceived.
From car washer to millionaire
With a social audience approaching 750,000, Joshua Cartu presented himself as an accomplished racer and successful entrepreneur. He traveled widely, owned luxury properties, chauffeured by expensive vehicles, and even flew on a private jet with a customized toilet seat. His feed featured appearances with well-known figures such as Robert De Niro, James Marsden, and director Martin Scorsese.
Toronto Life later reported that Cartu’s racing image was manufactured. He briefly trained at a Ferrari driving school and then mixed with other affluent car enthusiasts on private toll roads. He and his brothers grew up in a middle‑income family that operated a Canadian auto dealership. Cartu left high school early and began work as a car washer at his father’s salon.
After a failed stint as a filmmaker, Cartu moved to Cyprus, took a job with an Estonian gaming software company, and soon used that experience to launch a competing platform to monetize activities. In 2008 he joined another gaming company, and although the position paid well, Toronto Life stated that he “took far more.” Reviews described the platform as involved in fraud, with players’ winnings pocketed and large jackpots denied. Investors began lawsuits in 2013, though many claims were dismissed due to insufficient proof.
In 2013 he began earning substantial money, bought three luxury cars, relocated to Budapest, and adopted the lifestyle he had envisioned.
Cartu remarked in an interview that childhood wishes included a million dollars, a Ferrari, and a large house, which led to a sense of direction once those desires were achieved. He later disclosed owning a fleet of Ferraris, remarking that choosing a car each day formed part of his routine.
He claimed that a new form of high‑risk online trading had emerged in Israel and, together with his brothers, founded Sandbox Cartus, a binary options venture in the region that also encompassed Glenridge Capital and at least eighteen other entities. Court findings indicated that staff entrusted with guiding customers through documentation lacked proper training and were instructed to mislead and push for greater earnings.
The brothers reportedly used number‑masking software and contacted clients under aliases to evade legal association with their companies. The same software concealed losses even when customers appeared to win, funneling the proceeds to the enterprise operators.
Hard to Find Tycoon
Victims of the scheme—retirees, veterans, struggling families, and young professionals—banded together to investigate. Authorities in Canada, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United Arab Emirates began scrutinizing the Cartu enterprises as well. There was talk of a binary options ban in Israel, prompting the brothers to shutter their operations.
In Ireland, David Cartu filed a bankruptcy petition under his real name against one of the companies, a move that aided investigators linking the brothers to the business. Cartu later withdrew from social media and disappeared. Despite numerous lawsuits, the brothers avoided accountability for years, as the crimes were difficult to prove and assets were spread across multiple jurisdictions, making seizure challenging.
One observer noted that even if courts order compensation, little may remain to recover. The authors of the investigation claimed that Cartus’ operations were a web of cross‑border activity, complicating enforcement.
As reported elsewhere, Jonathan and David Cartu were detained in the United Arab Emirates in 2022, while Joshua Cartu was reported to reside within a Moscow City complex tower during recent years.