Collin County, Texas, Man Sentenced To 51 Months In Federal Prison For Embezzling Approximately $1 Million From Employer, Hudson Advisors, LLC, In Wire Fraud Scheme

DALLAS — Steven Chen Yu, 40, of Allen, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 51 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in July 2013 to an information charging wire fraud in connection with his attempt to embezzle approximately $1 million from his employer, Hudson Advisors, LLC and its global subsidiaries (Hudson).  Judge Boyle also ordered that Yu pay approximately $365,000 in restitution and surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on April 9, 2014.  U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement today.   

Hudson was a globally integrated asset management company that performed due diligence and analysis, asset management and other support services for Lone Star Funds, a leading private equity firm that invested globally in distressed assets.  Hudson employed approximately 800 professionals in the U.S. and had affiliate offices in Europe, Canada and Japan.  Hudson’s main offices were in Dallas.

Hudson maintained a private client department that employed several private client managers.  It was responsible for providing accounting and bill payment services for Hudson owner J.G.  As part of his duties, Yu was authorized by Hudson to access all of J.G.’s personal financial information.

From September 2009 through March 2012, Yu engaged in several fraudulent acts which enabled him to embezzle substantial funds belonging to J.G.  For example, from September through October 2009, Yu fraudulently re-submitted duplicate invoices for legitimate repair work that had been done on J.G.’s boat, knowing that the invoices had already been paid.  Yu substituted his own personal bank account information, and in this manner, was able to fraudulently divert and embezzle $150,572 from J.G.’s accounts.

In another scheme, and in a similar manner, on December 1, 2009, Yu defrauded J.G. by also using duplicate invoices for landscaping work that had previously been done on J.G.’s personal residence in Massachusetts.  Yu was able to fraudulently divert and embezzle more than $69,000 in funds from one of J.G.’s trust accounts for duplicate payment on the landscaping work.  However, later in December 2009, Yu fraudulently caused the more than $69,000 to be deposited back into the account from which they had been diverted prior to Hudson becoming aware of any of Yu’s unlawful activities in connection with the fraudulent diversion or embezzlement of funds.

As part of a larger scheme, beginning in 2009 and continuing through March 2012, Yu fraudulently used and diverted J.G.’s funds which Yu used to make advance “estimated tax payments” for Yu’s benefit in connection with his own future state income taxes due in Massachusetts.  When Yu filed his personal income tax returns with Massachusetts, he claimed that he owed no taxes and requested Massachusetts pay him a complete refund of all the estimated tax payments he had made to the state with funds he had stolen from J.G.

During the period from about 2009 through March 2012, as part of his scheme to defraud, Yu attempted to steal and embezzle a total of approximately $1,292,000 from Hudson owner J.G.

The FBI conducted the investigation; Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Jarvis prosecuted.