Smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電) declined to comment on a report that its founder, Cher Wang (王雪紅), has been defrauded by members of her church.
The Chinese-language World Journal, published in the US, cited US court papers as saying that Wang was cheated out of US$7.4 million.
The US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, said in a news release that between 2004 and last month, Jonathan Chang (常如武), 60, and his wife, Grace Lee Chang (李薇林), 57, had defrauded a donor.
Although the news release did not identify the donor, media reports said that the donor was Wang.
The reports said Wang and her husband, Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦), are devout Christians and that they founded the “Faith Hope Love Foundation” to support Christian organizations around the world.
The two got married at the Home of Christ Church in Saratoga, the reports said, adding that Chen was baptized there and both attach great importance to the congregation.
Chang and his wife were arrested at their residence at Cupertino, California, on Feb. 8. They were later released on US$200,000 bail each.
The Changs are also members of the Home of Christ Church in Saratoga.
Jonathan Chang served as a church elder between 2002 and 2011 and was in charge of its finances, the report said, adding that he established a charity organization similar to that of the church.
The report said that the Changs allegedly remitted the money given by a donor to the organization they set up, instead of the church.
The news release said that the Changs also lied to the donor that the Home of Christ Church in Saratoga needed money for a new building, for which the donor gave US$2 million and provided US$3 million in loans.
The Changs did not inform the church about the donation and diverted the money into their personal account.
Media reports said that Jonathan Chang and Chen Wen-chi were college classmates and that Chang was trusted by both Chen and Wang.
Chang is senior manager and chief financial officer of VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子), and Wang is the chairwoman of the company.
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