LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – An Anaheim resident was arrested this morning on federal mail fraud and wire fraud charges that accuse him of running a fraudulent investment company that fleeced clients out of at least $4 million.
Kangsan Kim, 34, was arrested at his residence without incident by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kim faces two felony counts contained in a criminal complaint that was unsealed during his initial court appearance earlier this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the affidavit in support of the complaint, Kim and others defrauded victims by pretending to set up securities accounts at UNUS Capital Management, Inc. Kim and others prepared written statements that purported to show victims’ accounts and profits generated by the investments. In fact, however, the accounts did not exist and the profits were fictitious. Instead of investing the victims’ money in stocks, Kim and others used the victims’ money to pay for personal and business expenses.
During the scheme, Kim and others encouraged victims to use a brokerage house they controlled. PeopleN Investments, Inc., maintained a website – www.peopleninvestment.com – that purported to show account information. The brokerage house also claimed to be a member of the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, which it was not.
UNUS Capital advertised on a Korean-language radio station, and several victims invested with the company after hearing its ads.
At today’s court hearing, a United States Magistrate Judge scheduled an arraignment for August 14. The judge also scheduled a detention hearing tomorrow morning to determine if bond will be set. Kim will remain in custody until tomorrow’s hearing.
The charges of mail fraud and wire fraud carry a maximum possible penalty of 40 years in federal prison.
A criminal complaint alleges that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Dorothy C. Kim
(213) 894-3779
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew E. Sloan
(213) 894-0619
Release No. 06-099
