A Southern California man who bilked investors worldwide out of $147 million in a pyramid scheme was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Steve Chen,.
Californian gets 10 years for $147M global investment scam
by The Associated Press
Last Updated Jan 11, 2021 at 7:14 pm EDT
LOS ANGELES A Southern California man who bilked investors worldwide out of $147 million in a pyramid scheme was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison.
Steve Chen, 63, of the Los Angeles-area suburb of Bradbury, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, who said Chen’s “litany of lies” promoted a scam of “epic proportions,” according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Chen owned U.S. Fine Investment Arts, Inc. Between 2013 and 2015. The firm sold fake investments, “points” for shares when the company went public and a phoney digital currency called “Gem Coins” that it claimed were backed by non-existent mines for amber and other gemstones in the U.S., the Dominican Republic, Argentina and Mexico, prosecutors said.