Nov 19, 2009
He cheated 91 of $13m
Lee Hock Chye jailed for 14 years for investment scam
<!-- by line -->By Elena Chong & Mavis Toh
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THEY were successful professionals in their own right. But the lure of making a quick buck saw two people fall for the ruse of a con man.
Over a 12-month period from 2007 to last year, the 51-year-old architect and the 49-year-old senior manager handed over $700,000 altogether to Lee Hock Chye.
They were not the only ones to fall for the scam. In all, Lee, 30, convinced 91 people in just two years to put $13.4 million into an investment scam he concocted in April 2006.
Only $3 million was paid as returns to the customers.
His victims - including retirees, businessmen and students - gave him amounts ranging from $430 to $744,000, after he promised them returns as high as 30 per cent.
On Wednesday, District Judge Toh Yung Cheong jailed Lee for 14 years on 16 counts of cheating. Each could have landed him in jail for up to seven years.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
He cheated 91 of $13m
Lee Hock Chye jailed for 14 years for investment scam
<!-- by line -->By Elena Chong & Mavis Toh
<!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar -->
THEY were successful professionals in their own right. But the lure of making a quick buck saw two people fall for the ruse of a con man.
Over a 12-month period from 2007 to last year, the 51-year-old architect and the 49-year-old senior manager handed over $700,000 altogether to Lee Hock Chye.
They were not the only ones to fall for the scam. In all, Lee, 30, convinced 91 people in just two years to put $13.4 million into an investment scam he concocted in April 2006.
Only $3 million was paid as returns to the customers.
His victims - including retirees, businessmen and students - gave him amounts ranging from $430 to $744,000, after he promised them returns as high as 30 per cent.
On Wednesday, District Judge Toh Yung Cheong jailed Lee for 14 years on 16 counts of cheating. Each could have landed him in jail for up to seven years.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.
