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Sunshine Empire trio guilty

chowka

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Jul 16, 2010

Sunshine Empire trio guilty

<!-- by line --> By Khushwant Singh
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(From left) Former head of Sunshine Empire James Phang Wah, 49, his wife Neo Kuon Huay, 46, and ex-director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 29. The trio will be sentenced on July 30. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW


A DISTRICT court convicted former head of Sunshine Empire James Phang Wah, 49, and ex-director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 29, on Friday for perpetrating a fraud and for criminal breach of trust. Phang and his wife Neo Kuon Huay, 46, were also found guilty of falsifying accounts. The trio will be sentenced on July 30.

During the two-month long trial that started last October, the prosecution presented evidence that the two men had misled participants about the customer rebate points (CRP) earned by buying the firm's lifestyle packages. The duo had claimed the CRP was derived from the firm's turnover on the e-mall platform.

While this sounds impressive, it was essentially meaningless, as the e-commerce platform generated no additional income for Sunshine, District Judge Jasvender Kaur noted. The CRP was paid out from the sale of new packages and since the rebate points could come up to 160 per cent of the cost of a package, the scheme was doomed to fail, the judge said on Friday.

The court also ruled that both men had committed eight CBT offences by paying Neo a monthly commission of one per cent of total sales under the guise that she was the firm's group sales director. Phang and his wife were also convicted on six charges of falsifying accounts for the payment of these commissions.

Phang and Hoo face a maximum of $15,000 fine and seven years' jail for fraudulent trading. For the CBT offences, they face a maximum of life imprisonment and a fine. The maximum penalty for falsifying accounts is seven years' jail with a fine.


 
Sunshine Empire pair jailed


Jul 30, 2010

Sunshine Empire pair jailed

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(From left) James Phang Wah, founder of Sunshine Empire, his wife Neo Kuon Huay, and Jackie Choon Cheat, the company's former director. Phang was sentenced to nine years jail and fined $60,000, his wife was fined the same amount, and Hoo was jailed for seven years. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW

THE flamboyant founder of Sunshine Empire, who amassed $180 million in 15 months, and his former director were jailed by a court on Friday for running a fraudulent scheme and for faking accounts. James Phang Wah, 50, and former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 30, had enriched themselves by at least $8 million through Sunshine's multi-level marketing scheme.

Phang was sentenced to nine years jail and fined $60,000 while Hoo was jailed for seven years. Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay, 47, who was found guilty of falsifying payment vouchers together with Phang, was fined $60,000. They did this so that she could receive commissions amounting to nearly $1 million.

Some 20,000 people bought into the flashy scheme, which promised high returns on its lifestyle packages. Sunshine sold these packages at its plush Toa Payoh Central office for over 15 months, before it was raided by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in November 2007. The packages ranged from $240 to $12,000 and offered attractive bonuses and incentives.

What was unique was its customer rebate points (CRP) system, which allowed participants to use the points to buy goods online. Phang and Hoo had assured participants that CRP was derived from the firm's turnover on its e-commerce platform. Like other Ponzi-like schemes, rewards for participants came from fresh money secured from those joining later.


 
Someone has to look after the children right?
 
i rather wished they were not raising children. terrible role-models unless we really want more thieves, lawyers and politicians in our country.
 

Sunshine Empire duo begin jail sentences

Published on Dec 13, 2011

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Sunshine Empire's founder James Phang Wah (above) arriving at a district court yesterday to surrender himself and start serving his nine-year sentence. Former director Jackie Hoo also began his seven-year term yesterday. -- PHOTOS: SHIN MIN, LIANHE ZAOBAO

ST_IMAGES_KSSUNSHINE13.jpg


The founder and the former director of marketing company Sunshine Empire on Monday surrendered themselves at a district court to start serving their jail terms for fraud.

James Phang Wah, 51, has been sentenced to nine years behind bars and fined $60,000 after starting the firm, which swindled investors who bought 'lifestyle packages'.

Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 31, the company's former director, has been jailed for seven years.

Sunshine was a multi-level marketing company that sold packages promising high returns.

However, the returns were not the result of genuine profits but of funds being recycled from new members.

Phang and Hoo were convicted last year.

Their appeal was dismissed by the High Court last month and the start of their sentences delayed so they could settle their personal and business affairs and spend time with their families.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

Sunshine boss wants Court of Appeal to look at case

New appeal for ruling on whether judge found him guilty for right reasons

Published on Jan 2, 2012

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James Phang (centre) with his wife Neo Kuon Huay and Sunshine Empire former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, in a 2010 photo. Phang was convicted that year by a district court for running a fraudulent scheme and faking accounts, and jailed nine years and fined $60,000. -- ST FILE PHOTO


By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent

James Phang Wah, the founder of marketing company Sunshine Empire, began his nine-year jail term last month after exhausting his appeal at the High Court, but the saga will not end there.

In a rare move, Phang, 51, now wants the Court of Appeal to decide if the High Court judge had found him guilty of fraud for the right reasons under the Companies Act.

The case is interesting on two counts:

First, under criminal procedure rules, a district court case should end at the High Court and there is no further appeal process - unless there are points of law of public interest for the highest court of the land to clarify.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
 

Remaining charges against Sunshine Empire trio dropped
By Alvina Soh | Posted: 19 January 2012 1846 hrs

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The prosecution withdrew the remaining charges against the Sunshine Empire trio who were tried and convicted in 2010. A district court heard on Jan 19 that James Phang Wah (right) , Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, and Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay (left) have been issued a stern warning by the police -- PHOTO: SPH

SINGAPORE: The remaining charges against the Sunshine Empire trio, who were convicted in 2010, were withdrawn by the prosecution on Thursday.

This, after all three were given a stern warning by the police.

The head of the now-defunct multi-level marketing firm, 51-year-old Phang Wah, was sentenced to nine years' jail and fined S$60,000 in July 2010.

Phang's wife, Neo Kuon Huay, was also fined S$60,000 for her involvement in the fraudulent business, while former-company director, Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat was jailed seven years.

A charge against Phang and Hoo for failing to keep proper accounts was dropped. In addition, Phang and his wife no longer face a charge for providing a misleading statement to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

Three additional charges against Phang for possessing more than 200 uncensored and obscene films were also dropped.

-CNA/ac
 
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Sunshine Empire's case to go up to Court of Appeal

Published on Jan 30, 2012

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The High Court on Monday allowed Sunshine Empire's boss James Phang Wah (above) to raise questions about the legality of his conviction to the Court of Appeal.


By Khushwant Singh

The High Court on Monday allowed Sunshine Empire's boss James Phang Wah to raise questions about the legality of his conviction to the Court of Appeal. The founder of the now defunct multi-level firm was jailed 4 1/2 years in 2010 for running a fraudulent business under the Companies Act.

He was also jailed another 4 1/2 years and fined $60,000 for criminal breach of trust. He is presently serving the nine-year sentence. If the Court of Appeal's decision goes his way, the conviction under the Companies Act could be quashed or a new trial may be ordered.

Up for scrutiny for the Court of Appeal is whether Phang knowingly carried on Sunshine's business with a fraudulent purpose in mind. In the trial in the district court, he was found to have sold packages yielding high returns when in fact Sunshine did not operate any substantive profit-generating business, and had no sustainable means of funding such returns.

The lower court also found Phang knew these payouts would have been unsustainable when he continued the business.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
 
Compensate victims losses in Ponzi scheme from winner's profit, so nobody can possibl

Sunshine Empire's case to go up to Court of Appeal
Published on Jan 30, 2012
ST_IMAGES_KSSUNSHINE.jpg

The High Court on Monday allowed Sunshine Empire's boss James Phang Wah (above) to raise questions about the legality of his conviction to the Court of Appeal.
By Khushwant Singh
The High Court on Monday allowed Sunshine Empire's boss James Phang Wah to raise questions about the legality of his conviction to the Court of Appeal. The founder of the now defunct multi-level firm was jailed 4 1/2 years in 2010 for running a fraudulent business under the Companies Act.
He was also jailed another 4 1/2 years and fined $60,000 for criminal breach of trust. He is presently serving the nine-year sentence. If the Court of Appeal's decision goes his way, the conviction under the Companies Act could be quashed or a new trial may be ordered.
Up for scrutiny for the Court of Appeal is whether Phang knowingly carried on Sunshine's business with a fraudulent purpose in mind. In the trial in the district court, he was found to have sold packages yielding high returns when in fact Sunshine did not operate any substantive profit-generating business, and had no sustainable means of funding such returns.
The lower court also found Phang knew these payouts would have been unsustainable when he continued the business.
Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
Compensate victims losses in Ponzi scheme from winner's profit, so nobody can possibly gain.
lenscapes (31Jan2012) said:
Thread: The End of SunShine Empire
"Between August 2006 and November 2007, more than 2,000 packages were sold, bringing in about $180 million to Sunshine's coffers.
"In 2007, the Commercial Affairs Department moved in to investigate its dealings. Only $21 million was seized by the authorities.
Where are the rest??
The rest must have gone to pay-outs to the initial members so that they would sing praises about Sunshine empire; besides lavish payments to the directors of course.

Me thinks the CAD has severely failed in its duty in protecting investors in this SG company.

Perhaps these MLM schemes should be more closely regulated: e.g. requiring scrutiny of business plans, monthly reporting of accounts/ capital remaining etc that is also made quasi public like the reporting necessary for public listed companies in view of the risk of people being swindled by such Ponzi schemes.

Seems like almost 90% of the original paid up capital had disappeared by the time the CAD caught up with them and still the guy has the cheek to appeal- the prosecutor should prove his scheme to be a Ponzi one (not an accidentally bad business plan) and prosecute him as such for that. [Sunshine Empire founder seeks clarification from Court of Appeal]

Better still, Singapore law should allow the later investors of the ponzi scheme to sue the earlier (those who profited handsomely) for their losses since the entire scheme was in the first place ILLEGAL.

In fact, in the David Rasif case, didn't 2 goldsmiths lose almost 2 kg of gold to confiscation by the law society pending re-distribution to all victims of the runaway lawyer Rasif, simply because they had unknowingly bought gold from Rasif (/ his intermediaries) whose gold from UOB bank [Man jailed for selling rogue lawyer Rasif's gold bars] had in the first place been purchased using misappropriated client monies? [High Court to decide on who gets what]

Where may I ask is the first class political leadership and judiciary?
David+Rasif,+asset+distribution+%28ST+Sept2010%29.JPG
[full pict]

ST23Mar2007-+Why+pay+must+go+up.JPG

PS: I'm neither a lawyer nor legally trained, but this is what I see.
 

Court of Appeal throws out Sunshine Empire case

By Kimberly Spykerman/Leong Wai Kit | Posted: 28 September 2012 2248 hrs

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SINGAPORE : The Court of Appeal threw out the Sunshine Empire case on Friday, after their lawyers failed to prove that the case raised any questions of law and public interest.

Sunshine Empire founder James Phang Wah and former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat were jailed for offences that include running a fraudulent trading company, falsifying accounts and criminal breach of trust.

Phang was sentenced to 9 years' in jail while Hoo has to serve 7 years in prison.

The pair ran the now-defunct Sunshine Empire, a multi-level marketing company that came to be touted as the biggest Ponzi-like scheme in Singapore.

They sold 'lifestyle packages' that promised high returns, but the 'investment returns' were generated from new members signing up rather than from genuine profits.

Their appeals were dismissed by the High Court in November last year, but they successfully applied for permission to take their case to the Court of Appeal.

In court, their lawyers fleshed out their case in front of a three-judge court made up of Justices Andrew Phang, V K Rajah, and Lee Seiu Kin.

Hoo's lawyer Philip Fong said that to call Sunshine Empire a Ponzi scheme was unfair and needed clarification.

Subhas Anandan, who was acting for Phang, said that there were many unresolved issues of law that affecting the case, which needed to be resolved in light of Singapore's desire to be a global commercial hub.

But their arguments failed to convince the judges.

Justice Phang noted that just because a company can produce a perfectly legal contract, it does not mean that fraudulent practices cannot occur.

He then described the case as a "backdoor appeal", where the lawyers were disputing facts rather than points of law.

In conclusion, the three judges said no questions of law and public interest have arisen in this case, and added that Phang and Hoo were correctly convicted in law.

- CNA/ms

 
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