FBI searching for fraud victims

IRVINE - FBI investigators are seeking what they believe to be additional victims of an investment scheme allegedly operated by defendants in Irvine, officials with the FBI and U.S. attorney said.A federal grand jury returned an indictment earlier this month charging two Irvine residents with defrauding several victims by falsely claiming that invested funds would be used to sponsor political visits to China and Taiwan by prominent politicians. Jack Hu, 26, and his mother, Kuei Fuang Tsuei Hu, 62, both of Irvine, were each charged with three counts of wire fraud. Jack Hu was also charged with one count of "misusing the great seal of the United States." The indictment alleges that the defendants told victims that their funds would be invested in Jack Hu's company, London International Group, and that the money would be used to sponsor visits to China by former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, or for a visit to Taiwan by former vice president Al Gore. Victims, who were primarily Chinese-Americans, were promised that they would receive substantial returns on their investments, ranging from 3 to 10 percent, per month, according to the indictment. The defendants allegedly failed to disclose to investors that a significant portion of the invested funds were being diverted for their personal use, including to fund large amounts of gambling in Las Vegas casinos. The indictment also alleges that Jack Hu knowingly displayed a printed likeness of the Great Seal of the Untied States on a business card that identified himself as the "chairman" of the United States Senate Advisory Committee for the purpose of conveying a false impression of sponsorship or approval by the U.S. government. Jack and Kuei Fuang Tsuei Hu were arrested by the FBI in October. Both are being held without bond. If convicted of the three counts of wire fraud, they would each face a statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison. Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the alleged fraud is asked to call the FBI's Santa Ana office at (714) 542-8825.

********** Published: November 10, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 30