A former finance manager who was involved in a large scale multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme targeting the Japanese community has been sentenced to six years and four months in prison, and ordered to pay $691,000 in reparations, after being found guilty on charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.
A minimum period of imprisonment of 40% was imposed, meaning Yuko Hanyu must serve two years and six months of her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Ms Hanyu was sentenced in the Auckland District Court yesterday after being found guilty by a jury in April on ten charges related to her role with East Wind.
“Ms Hanyu helped to oversee a large and incredibly complex Ponzi scheme which deceived investors out of millions of dollars,” says SFO Director Karen Chang.
“Today’s sentence and the imposition of a minimum period of imprisonment reflects the seriousness of such offending, which undermines legitimate investment markets and threatens New Zealand’s reputation as a safe place to do business.”
East Wind Company Limited was part of the East Wind Group, which marketed itself as offering financial services and immigration support to New Zealand’s Japanese community. Ms Hanyu was the manager of the company’s finance department from 2004 to December 2017.
The group collapsed in February 2019 and was placed into liquidation, following the death of director Masatomo Ashikaga (also known as Tom Tanaka).
Ms Hanyu worked together with Mr Ashikaga to obtain funds from investors, relying on false statements about so-called investment products and promised returns. They exploited their connections to the Japanese community and ran fictitious investment schemes which deceived investors of more than $20 million.
In reality, financial products offered by the company – the Group Term Deposit and Waterloo Fund – operated as Ponzi schemes. Incoming funds were used to make repayments to other investors.
Ms Hanyu also stole more than $800,000 from East Wind, which she transferred to her mortgage account and personal credit card.
“Our investigators and forensic accountants analysed tens of thousands of documents to unravel the complicated East Wind scheme. This included large amounts of detailed financial records, most of which were in Japanese,” Ms Chang says.
“Many of the investors in this case were based overseas. Foreign investors are important to the New Zealand economy, and investors must have confidence our markets are fair, safe and well-regulated.
“The SFO will continue to prioritise cases which pose a threat to our country’s commercial wellbeing, which is particularly critical in today’s challenging economic environment.”
ENDS
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