The United States Attorney's Office

YORBA LINDA MAN SENTENCED TO 84 MONTHS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN $19 MILLION PONZI SCHEME

A Yorba Linda man who ran a fraudulent investment scheme that cost dozens of primarily Korean-American victims millions of dollars was sentenced late today to seven years in federal prison.

Jinsup Choi, 50, was sentenced by United States District Judge District Judge A. Howard Matz. In addition to the prison term, Judge Matz ordered Choi to pay $10,035,615. Choi was remanded into custody following today’s sentencing hearing.

Choi pleaded guilty in March to two counts of wire fraud in relation to his operation of FIG, a company based in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles that purported to offer investments in foreign currency trading. Choi told investors that he could earn profits of as much as 10 percent per month, and that he would split the profits with investors. While FIG took in approximately $19 million, Choi used only $1.8 million of the investor monies to trade in foreign currencies. Choi lulled investors into a false sense of security by mailing false account statements to clients and by paying alleged interest and profits with investor monies instead of profits generated from foreign currency trading.

Choi used investor money to fund his lavish lifestyle, which included the purchase of a home, a yacht and numerous luxury automobiles.

Once the Ponzi scheme collapsed, victims suffered losses of at least $10,035,615.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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Release No. 08-122
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