Taipei District prosecutors charged former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union lawmaker Cheng Yu-cheng (鄭余鎮) and four others yesterday with cheating investors out of about NT$18 million (US$600,000).
Prosecutors allege that Cheng and his son Cheng Yu-hao (鄭余豪) established a company under the guise of a traditional local cooperative to solicit its members to transfer funds for investment.
Cheng Yu-cheng and Cheng Yu-hao, who served as the company’s president and board member respectively, allegedly persuaded members that the company would guarantee investors a certain level of return on their investment.
Such actions violated banking regulations because the company, which was not legally operating as a bank, did not have the authorization to accept deposits from customers or conduct banking services, prosecutors said.
The company took in about NT$18 million in private investments between 2005 and 2007, which was transferred to other companies under the Chengs’ names. The Chengs’ company went bankrupt from poor investment strategies and couldn’t pay investors their returns, leaving angry investors demanding their money and filing claims against the Chengs for fraud.
District prosecutors said they had concluded their investigation and indicted the two Chengs and four others for fraud and violation of the Banking Act (銀行法).
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