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Norman Hsu Pleads Guilty to Investment Fraud
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, announced that NORMAN HSU
pleaded guilty today to ten counts of mail and wire fraud
stemming from his role in an investment fraud scheme that
defrauded investors across the United States. HSU, a resident of
New York, New York, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to
Counts One through Ten of the superseding Indictment in which he
is charged before United States District Judge VICTOR MARRERO.
Four counts of the superseding Indictment, charging campaign
finance fraud, remain pending against HSU.
According to the superseding Indictment filed in
Manhattan federal court and statements made during HSU's guilty
plea proceedings:
HSU was the Managing Director of two companies,
Components Ltd. and Next Components Ltd. HSU solicited
investments in the companies by promising guaranteed short-term
high returns. The companies would supposedly generate funds to
pay those attractive returns by providing short-term financing to
other businesses. After receiving money from victim investors,
HSU, for a time, paid interest and returned principal as
promised. Believing HSU to be trustworthy and the companies to
be legitimate and potentially profitable, victims often agreed to
roll over their invested funds into new investments with HSU;
invest more money with HSU; and recruit friends to invest with
HSU. In reality, money returned to earlier investors was paid
with money received from subsequent investors. From 2000 through
August 2007, HSU convinced victims to invest at least $60 million
in his fraudulent scheme. In the end, after making some payments
intended to perpetuate the scheme, HSU swindled his victims out
of at least $20 million.
HSU pleaded guilty to five counts of mail fraud and
five counts of wire fraud in connection with the investment fraud
scheme.
Trial on the remaining campaign finance fraud counts is
set to begin on May 11, 2009. As to those charges, HSU is
presumed innocent unless and until he is found guilty.
Mr. DASSIN praised the work of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation in the investigation of this case.
If you believe you are a victim of the Components Ltd.
and Next Components Ltd. investment fraud, including a victim
entitled to restitution, and you wish to provide information to
law enforcement and/or receive notice of future developments in
the case or additional information, please contact Wendy
Olsen-Clancy, the Victim Witness Coordinator at the United States
Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, at
(866)874-8900, or Wendy.Olsen@usdoj.gov. For additional
information, go to: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/victimwitness.html on
the Internet.
This prosecution is being handled by the Office's
Public Corruption Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys
KATHERINE A. LEMIRE, ALEXANDER J. WILLSCHER, and RUA M. KELLY are
in charge of the prosecution.
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