SEC Stops Ponzi Scheme Targeting Chinese-Americans

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Toronto hedge-fund manager, Weizhen Tang, who describes himself as the “Chinese Warren Buffett,” for raising as much $75 million for the Oversea Chinese Fund Limited Partnership from more than 200 investors, and for operating a Ponzi scheme since at least 2006.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Tang told investors in February 2009 that in an effort to conceal substantial trading losses and attract new investors to the Oversea Chinese Fund, he posted false profits on investors’ account statements and used funds from new investors to return principal and pay out at least $8 million in “fake” profits to other investors. [via SEC] …
Tang, reached by telephone, said that while his business had run into “difficulties,” it wasn’t a Ponzi scheme and that he never sought to benefit at the expense of investors. He said he only used the Buffett nickname after other people started calling him that.

“I didn’t call myself Warren Buffett,” he said. “I wish I could be.” [via Bloomberg]

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