USFIA founder and proprietor Steve Chen, aka Li Chen and… the “Boss”, has agreed to plead responsible to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion.
USFIA’s GemCoin Ponzi factors scheme was shut down the by the SEC in late 2015.
Following a presumably prolonged joint investigation by the FBI, IRS and Homeland Safety, a plea settlement was filed on Tuesday the 18th.
In response to his plea settlement, Chen was the proprietor and chief govt officer of U.S. Effective Funding Arts, Inc. (USFIA), and 6 different corporations that used the identical Arcadia deal with.
From July 2013 till September 2015, Chen fraudulently promoted and solicited USFIA investments, and he finally obtained roughly $147 million from victim-investors.
Chen additionally admitted that the corporate didn’t generate any important income from its enterprise operations, other than gross sales of funding packages to victim-investors.
Chen admitted that “Gem Cash” had no circulation in any business, weren’t accepted by any retailers, and had no financial worth.
Along with operating a Ponzi scheme, Chen (proper) additionally dedicated $1.8 million in tax fraud.
For his efforts, when sentencing rolls round Chen shall be dealing with as much as ten years in federal jail.
By way of a court-appointed Receiver, the SEC motion has already stripped Chen of property acquired via USFIA.
A $145 million greenback USFIA settlement was reached with the SEC in January 2017.
BehindMLM reviewed USFIA in June 2015, three months earlier than the SEC shut it down.
What made USFIA’s GemCoin Ponzi factors stand out to us particularly, was the involvement of US politician John Wuo.
Regardless of denying he profited from USFIA, a Receivership investigation revealed the previous Arcadia mayor obtained $1.8 million in stolen sufferer funds.
Leonard Stacy Johnson, who labored for Chen to advertise USFIA, plead responsible to ‘one rely of tax evasion and one rely of creating a false assertion on an immigration doc‘ final July.
Johnson is scheduled to be sentenced on June twenty second.
Replace twenty third June 2020 – I checked the case docket at this time and there’s some sealed filings that have been made on April twenty eighth.
As of but no information on Johnson’s scheduled sentencing listening to. Ditto the character of the sealed filings.
I’ll be checking the docket once more in a fortnight.
Replace seventh September 2020 – On August 28 the DOJ filed two sealed paperwork pertaining to Leonard Johnson.
The ex parte software to file the paperwork itself is sealed, so I do not know what’s within the paperwork.
If I needed to guess, they pertain to Johnson’s sentencing. I’ll proceed to watch the case docket for updates.
Replace twenty fourth Could 2021 – I’ve been checking Johnson’s case docket month-to-month and sadly there’s been nothing to report.
Then out of the blue on Could 4th, the federal government filed two sealed paperwork.
As with the sealed paperwork filed final August, the applying to file the paperwork is itself sealed.
I determine one thing important is happening within the background however till no matter is taking part in out performs out, we’re none the wiser.
I’ll proceed to watch Johnson’s case docket month-to-month for updates.
Replace twenty second February 2022 – Steve Chen has been sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Nonetheless no updates on Johnson, which is actually weird at this stage.
Replace twenty second March 2022 – Nearly two years on the standing of Leonard Johnson stays unknown.
On February twenty eighth the DOJ filed two sealed paperwork. No matter is happening behind the scenes, for some purpose it’s being saved from the general public.
And no matter it’s, it continues to carry up Johnson’s sentencing.
Replace twenty second October 2022 – I’m nonetheless monitoring Johnson’s case docket. On October seventh two extra sealed paperwork have been filed.
Appears to be a six month report of some form. Nonetheless no concept what the sealed docs pertain to or why Johnson hasn’t been sentenced but.