Ex-insurance agent cheated victims into investing over S$7 million in bogus scheme while on bail

After receiving their funds, Koo would send them letters of agreement stating the amount received, the specific fund invested in, the guaranteed interest rate, and the maturity date.

Koo did not have such a trading account. Instead, he used the funds to pay his own and his family’s expenses, and invest in stocks and shares via investment platform Tiger Brokers.

His investments were initially profitable and Koo could generate “returns” for his investors, which led them to transfer more funds to him for re-investment. These investors also referred others to him via word-of-mouth.

Between Oct 14, 2019 and Dec 31, 2021, Koo cheated nine victims on at least nine occasions. He deceived them into transferring nearly S$7,380,000 and paid them a total of around S$5,867,000 in “returns”.

Eventually, Koo’s investments resulted in losses and he was unable to pay investors on time. But he lied to his victims about the delayed payments. 

He claimed that his bank accounts were frozen or subject to anti-money laundering checks. He then forged a letter of demand from a law firm on the release of funds, to lend credence to his lies.

The victims suffered losses of about S$1,512,530 and Koo only made restitution of S$1,000 to one victim.

They eventually discovered the ruse and made police reports against him.

On Feb 3, 2022, Koo lodged a police report admitting to his crimes.

The prosecution sought seven to eight years’ jail for Koo, while the defence argued for seven years’ jail. 

“The accused was the sole perpetrator and beneficiary of his deception. He conceived of the entire plan, executed it on his own, and entirely enjoyed the financial benefits that arose from his criminality,” Deputy Public Prosecutor Natalie Chu said.

She pointed out that Koo had offended while on bail and was facing court proceedings for other offences.

Koo’s lawyer Narayanan Vijya Kumar asked the court to treat Koo as a first-time offender as he had admitted to all the offences from the start.

To cooperate with the authorities, Koo had asked his sister to send his spreadsheet of investor accounts to investigators, the defence lawyer said, noting that Koo made a police report on his own accord.

District Judge Lim Tse Haw said the total sum cheated was “staggering” and the total losses suffered by the victims “no less staggering”. Only a “miniscule” restitution of S$1,000 was made to one victim, the judge noted.

Judge Lim concurred with the prosecution’s point that Koo was the “sole author” of the scheme. He disagreed with the defence that Koo should be treated as a first offender.

However, he still accorded Koo a sentencing discount for his plea of guilt.

Cheating to dishonestly induce the delivery of property carries a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.