A New York man has been sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for promoting a fraudulent company that solicited over $200 million from primarily Chinese American families.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California, 56-year-old Daliang “David” Guo was a high-level promoter for a Hong Kong-based company known as CKB 168. CKB 168 claimed to make a significant amount of money selling online children’s educational courses. From 2011 to 2014, Guo and his co-conspirators solicited investments in $1,380 increments. In return, investors received “Profit Reward Points,” which the company claimed were worth $750 in cash.
CKB 168 told investors that they would quickly see significant returns on their investments. The company, however, turned out to be a pyramid scheme. The only way for investors to earn meaningful returns was to recruit new investors.
Guo and his co-conspirators primarily targeted Chinese American communities in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. They used Youtube and other internet forums to promote CKB 168, as well as in-person meetings and live presentations.
In September 2018, Guo was found guilty by a federal jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and nine counts of wire fraud. On Monday, a federal judge sentenced him to nearly 12 years in prison.
According to the press release, four other defendants have also pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges and have been sentenced to federal prison:
- Wen Chen “Wendy” Lee, 57, formerly of Rowland Heights, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison;
- Chih Hsuan “Kiki” Lin, 54, formerly of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison; and
- Cheong Wha “Heywood” Chang, 48, and his wife, Toni Tong Chen, 47, both formerly of Hacienda Heights, were sentenced to 12 months and one day, and 20 months in federal prison, respectively.
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