Today, the SEC charged Peter C. Son and Jin K. Chung guilty of conducting an 80 million dollar Ponzi Scheme that involved nearly 500 investors. The scheme targeted Korean-American investors with the false promises of giant returns from forex (foreign currency) trading.
The investment scheme was a classic example of the Ponzi scheme. The funds that were supposed to be invested in foreign currency exchange were used to pay “returns” to select investors. Investor money was also used for the Son’s personal expenditures, including mortgage payments on a multi-million dollar house. The money also provided Son’s wife a salary she did not work for.
SNC Asset Management, Inc. (SNCA) and SNC Investments, Inc. (SNCI), were the two companies that Son and Chung coordinated to get the attention of investors. Manipulated profits and fabricated annual returns attracted many investors. The forex trading profits were fabricated and investors had monthly account statements with fake returns.
As the Ponzi scheme collapsed, Son and Chung drained the money out of these two companies and transfered investor funds into accounts overseas. The SEC is taking court orders to prevent these men and their companies from violating laws in the future and is also taking steps to provide emergency relief for investors. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has announced civil fraud charges against Son, Chung, SNCA, and SNCI.
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Tags: protect investments, recession, securities fraud, stock fraud, stock loss