In the world of tech startups, dreams are often bigger than reality, but one San Francisco entrepreneur took delusion to astronomical heights.

Ramesh Kris Nathan didn’t just exaggerate his company’s potential - he completely fabricated an entire business empire that existed purely in his imagination. His company, Relativity Research Fund, claimed to be developing revolutionary space exploration technology with a staggering $29.8 billion quarterly profit. Spoiler alert: it was all a lie.

The Fraud Unfolded

Nathan spun wild tales about space travel and advanced robotics, targeting investors with promises of interstellar exploration. He claimed his nonexistent “Aten Space Vehicle” was the “key to a sustainable future of space exploration for mankind” - a pitch so outrageous it sounds like a sci-fi movie plot.

The Legal Takedown

A San Francisco jury wasn’t buying Nathan’s fantastical narrative. They convicted him of six counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Prosecutors revealed that Relativity was essentially just a downtown San Francisco office rental with zero revenues or profits.

The Fallout

Nathan’s elaborate scheme involved using an intermediary employee to convince investors his company had “worldwide offices” with over 15,000 employees. In reality, he was funneling investor money into personal bank accounts, supporting his mother, and funding his then-girlfriend’s lifestyle.

The acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins summed it up perfectly: “Ramesh Nathan spun fantastic tales about space travel technology… but all he had to offer was science fiction”. Nathan now faces potential decades in prison, proving that in the tech world, reality always catches up with fiction.