A man from Queens faces a jail term of five years for being involved in a Forex scam. Tae Hung Kang stands accused of defrauding Korean-American investors of around $1.1 million.
Tae Hung Kang, who hails from Queens, has pleaded guilty for being part of a scheme that defrauded investors of more than $1.1 million. The accused was arraigned at the Brooklyn federal court where he faces the charges of committing securities fraud.
The forex scheme that Kang was involved in primarily targeted Korean-Americans in Brooklyn. He was arrested in 2018 and after a lengthy court process; he now faces a jail term of five years with additional penalties and fines. According to a statement released by the US Department of Justice, Kang had also agreed to pay a restitution of around $836,000.
How did Kang operate his Forex Scam?
In its statement, the US Department of Justice went ahead to give a detailed description of how Kang operated his forex scam. The accused targeted investors in the Eastern District of New York and in other areas.
The 57-year-old urged investors to buy stocks issued by his company, FOREXNPOWER, in order to realize huge yields from forex trading activities. He then gave investors a false promise that their investments would be used to grow the business and to leverage profits from forex, but this was not the case.
All the money that Kang received from investors was used for his personal gains. He also used some of the proceeds to market his company to more investors. He advertised his company’s algorithmic trading method that would help investors reap huge returns.
However, such an algorithm did not exist. Kang’s co-conspirator, John Won is also awaiting trial for being part of the scheme. The two used newspapers written in Korean to target the members of the Korean-American community.
The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Mark Lesko stated that Kang would be held accountable for his fraudulent dealings and for forsaking the trust that the Korean-American community had on him. These investors had trusted Kang and his team with over $700,000 by purchasing stock on FOREXNPOWER.
The U.S. Attorney also added that his office was committed to protecting investors and the public from such fraudulent schemes. He also thanked the relevant authorities including the FBI and the US Commodities and Futures Trading Commission for their work towards building the case and for making sure, that justice was served.