A fugitive who had been in hiding for nine years and wanted for defrauding investors by claiming to have developed “magnetic motor vehicle” was arrested earlier this month after being stopped by police for jaywalking, the Taipei police said yesterday.
In 2015, Hsieh Chun-chuan (謝均權), 65, was sentenced to four years in prison for defrauding investors of NT$200 million (US$6.23 million at the current exchange rate), but he jumped bail and disappeared.
Two police officers from Taipei’s Wenshan District Second Precinct said they arrested Hsieh by chance while on traffic duty when they stopped him to issue a ticket for jaywalking.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
In 2011, Hsieh claimed that his company Ching Hua International Energy Co acquired magnetic technology that could power cars without gasoline or electricity.
He registered several shell companies and solicited investments of NT$100,000 per member, with several thousand people investing.
He promised that each investor would receive a monthly dividend of NT$7,000, totaling NT$168,000 over two years.
However, it turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
In November 2012, Hsieh was convicted of fraud and breaches of the Business Entity Accounting Act (商業會計法) and the Banking Act (銀行法), and handed a four-year sentence by the High Court.
After failing in his appeal, public prosecutors served notice for Hsieh to serve his four-year prison sentence in January 2015.
However, he jumped bail and remained in hiding, using a forged driver’s license that enabled him to get through police checks in the past.
However, Wenshan police officer Ching Wei-chieh (景暐傑) searched the police database and found that the name of the person on Hsieh’s ID had died, and Hsieh’s appearence did not match the picture on the ID.
After questioning, Hsieh eventually revealed his real name and was arrested for his involvement in the fraud case.
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