Light goes out on Sunshine Empire
by admin , July 16, 2010, 1645hrs
SINGAPORE (July 16, 2010) - In a popular YouTube clip (watch video here), they were decked out in spiffy corporate attire, standing in front of their fancy cars while sharing how they had made millions.
Now, three members of the defunct multi-level marketing firm, Sunshine Empire, could soon be trading their sharp suits and stiff collars for prison garb.
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The court finds (from L- R) Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, Phang Wah and Neo Kuon Huay guilty.
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A district court has found 49-year-old James Phang Wah - who set up Sunshine Empire and was referred to as "chief" in the said video - guilty of several offences, including running a fraudulent trading company and falsifying accounts.
His wife, Neo Kuon Huay, and ex-company director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat were convicted of similar charges.
The trio, who will be sentenced on July 30, had managed to raise more than S$180 million from investors within 15 months - in what was described as Singapore's largest-known Ponzi scheme.
Phang and Hoo were each found guilty of eight charges related to criminal breach of trust involving nearly a million dollars.
District Judge Jasvender Kaur also found Phang and Neo each guilty of six counts of falsifying accounts involving nearly S$600,000.
Phang and Hoo could be sentenced to up to seven years' jail and fined a maximum of S$15,000 for running a fraudulent business. For criminal breach of trust, they could either be jailed for up to 10 years and fined, or face life imprisonment.
For falsifying accounts, Phang and Neo could be sentenced up to seven years' jail and fined.
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