Cop and wife accused of scamming police officers and friends in HKD20 mil. Ponzi scheme to fund lavish lifestyle

The couple claimed they could buy luxury items from VIP Station (pictured) at a discount then re-sell them for profit. Photo (for illustration only): Msiafkd via Wikimedia Commons
The couple claimed they could buy luxury items from VIP Station (pictured) at a discount then re-sell them for profit. Photo (for illustration only): Msiafkd via Wikimedia Commons

A former police constable and his wife are on trial over allegedly scamming fellow officers and friends out of more than HKD20 million to fund their lavish lifestyle.

Chu Hoi-yan, 36, and her husband Kevin Au Yeung, 39, are accused of scamming 14 people, including other police officers, friends, and their daughter’s kindergarten teacher, by convincing them to invest in luxury bags and watches which they promised to sell at a profit. Prosecutors alleged that the couple were in fact running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme and allayed suspicion by paying early investors with funds from new investors.

Chu, Au Yeung, and co-defendant Lee Yuk-fung, a saleswoman at luxury goods store VIP Station, were initially charged with 28 counts of fraud and money laundering. However, 10 of the charges were dropped after one of the alleged victims, 39-year-old police officer Ng Ming-kin, committed suicide on July 5, Oriental Daily reports.

Chu pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud at the District Court on Tuesday in relation to the writing of two bad checks totaling HKD100,000. However, all three defendants denied the remaining 16 charges.

The couple reportedly swindled colleagues and friends between 2011 and 2013 by claiming they could purchase Chanel and Hermès bags and Rolex watches from Lee at a discount and scalp them for profit. The court heard that Chu, who had no income, convinced her alleged victims to give her money to make the initial purchases as her credit limit was too low.

Chu would then reportedly set up a “debt settlement plan” with her investors, in which she promised to pay back the cost of the luxury goods, along with the “profits”, in installments. One investor, a businessman surnamed Yu whose daughter attended the same kindergarten as the couple’s child, said he only received HKD100,000 in return for a HKD2.36 million investment.

The kindergarten teacher, a woman surnamed Hau, told the court she was also swindled by Chu. After the 36-year-old feigned interest in opening a playgroup center and hiring Hau, she reportedly convinced the teacher to purchase two watches worth HKD156,000 from Lee.

Prosecutors alleged that Chu and Au Yeung used part of the funds to pay off loans from initial investors and financial companies, and pocketed the rest for themselves. The couple, who was supported by Au Yeung’s monthly income of HKD29,000, reportedly took 33 holidays abroad – most of which were to Japan – and spent roughly HKD72,000 a month from 2010 to 2013.

The trial continues in front of deputy district judge Amy Chan.



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