Sunshine Empire's Owner Goes To Jail
Friday, 30th July 2010
In what is believed to be the biggest Ponzi-like scheme in Singapore, 49-year old James Phang Wah, the head of the now-defunct Sunshine Empire, has been sentenced to nine years' jail and fined $60,000. He was convicted on the charge of fraudulent trading under fraudulent trading under the Companies Act and all the charges involving criminal breach of trust as an agent and falsification of Sunshine Empire’s accounts under the Penal Code.
29-year old Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, the company's director, was sentenced to seven years' jail. Neo Kuon Huay was convicted on all charges involving the falsification of Sunshine Empire’s accounts under the Penal Code. She was sentenced to a fine amounting to S$60,000. Yong Wai Hong had pleaded guilty to all charges of false declaration of the share capital of various companies under the Companies Act. He was convicted and has been sentenced to a fine amounting to S$24,000.
Their company had gathered up to S$189 million in funds through investment schemes, alleged to have never materialised and in fact a Ponzi scheme. Initial trial revealed that over S$115m were paid out as 'investment returns', while another S$40m were transferred to associates as 'interest free loans' and the remaining $34millon believed to have been expended or paid out to directors as fees. The ponzi scam empire had cheated more than 20,000 Singaporeans (mostly twenty something "invested" about $10,000) and rewards top scammers with luxury cars.