MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin woman is accused of leading a scheme to defraud Hmong American investors, mostly from Minnesota and Wisconsin, of at least $16.5 million.
The April 13 civil complaint filed with the SEC charges Kai Yang, 40, of Mekwang, between April 2017 and April 2021. Her husband, Chaoyang, 47 defrauded about 70 investors, charging for not Appropriate secondary defendants receive the proceeds of the fraud.
Investigators say the program operates in six other countries.
“Some of these investors’ first language is not English, and some of them are not sophisticated investors,” the complaint states.
Authorities say Kai Yang spent about $1.5 million on real estate, $790,000 on travel, $585,000 on living expenses and $313,000 on luxury cars for her and her husband, including a Lexus, Tesla and two BMWs. She has homes in Mequon, Sheboygan, Saukville, and Zimmerman, Minnesota.
The pair withdrew about $1.4 million in investor funds from ATMs at casinos in Milwaukee, Las Vegas, Atlantic City and elsewhere, the complaint alleges.
The SEC tried to stop Yang and her husband from working as investors and forced them to pay fines and return the funds to investors with interest.
Court documents do not list Yang’s lawyer.
