The impressive office, agents in suits and the charisma of ‘Lao Da’ ensured investors’ trust
By Mavis Toh 15 February 2009
Madam Mary Zhang’s life savings are gone and her best friend hates her. Still, she believes in James Phang.
Madam Zhang, 39, a China-born study mama, first invested $210,000 in Sunshine Empire, a multi-level marketer, in October 2007.
Phang founded the Empire Group Alliance, which includes Sunshine.
A friend introduced Madam Zhang to the ‘profitable scheme’ which promised hefty rebates. That same month, two of her closest friends also placed $500,000 of their savings in the scheme.
In November that year, monthly cash rebates to Sunshine participants ceased after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) began a probe into the company’s operations.
Two weeks ago, Phang, 49, Sunshine’s adviser, was charged with criminal breach of trust relating to the company’s dealings.
The charges against him include failing to maintain proper accounts, falsifying accounts and two for possessing obscene films.
Another officer, Sunshine president (Asia-Pacific) Jackie Hoo, 29, faces 10 charges, including running a fraudulent business. Two other people - one of whom is Phang’s wife - face related charges.
The main charge alleges that Phang and Hoo ran a Ponzi-like scheme using millions raised from the public.
Between August 2006 and November 2007, Sunshine raked in $189 million from over 20,000 investors in Singapore.
In Ponzi schemes, investors lured by high returns hand over cash, but the returns come from funds pumped in by new investors.
Phang, however, continues to have a loyal following. Among his employees and some investors, he is still regarded as a ‘Lao Da’ (big brother or chief, in Mandarin).
Madam Zhang, for instance, has stayed loyal to Sunshine and its chief.
‘I think he has a strong character,’ she said.
Such sentiments are shared by another Sunshine investor who wants to be known only as David, 24. He has been working under Phang since 2004, in another company selling skin-care and aroma- therapy products.
When Sunshine was formed in 2006, he joined the firm as an agent and invested $24,000 of his own money in the scheme.
‘He made me believe nothing was impossible,’ David said.
Sunshine usually persuaded people to put down $12,000 to buy into its ‘gold plan’, which was said to involve the online trading of goods such as health supplements and lingerie.
The plan offered non-guaranteed but hefty cash rebates.
Before the CAD probe, investors said they were getting their money. Employment agent Vince Ng, 30, invested $12,000 in the scheme in early 2007. Within eight months, he broke even, he said.
He went on to recruit 10 friends and relatives.
When his soccer buddy first introduced him to the scheme, he thought it was too good to be true.
So Mr. Ng made three trips to Sunshine’s then Shenton Way office. He walked away convinced.
He said: ‘I sat there for three hours, and there were at least 50 people who came to invest, many holding cash.’
When the firm later moved into Toa Payoh Hub, its office impressed visitors. The huge compound was lavishly furnished with gold trimmings and lush carpeting.
‘At the entrance, the company’s logo, a lion’s head, was in gold,’ said one investor.
The ‘impressive grand office’ and agents dressed in business suits also convinced Mrs H.C. Lim, 50, to invest $30,000 in the firm.
The administrator said: ‘I thought if it was a big company, nothing could go wrong.’
Investors The Sunday Times spoke to also noticed that many of the agents were people in their 20s.
One agent, who declined to be named, was recruited when he was finishing his national service stint.
‘The firm made us feel like we could succeed even without much education,’ he said.
Some agents, who were also ‘upline’ investors, drove upmarket cars.
In multi-level marketing parlance, uplines are early investors who typically get their returns - from new funds put up by ‘downlines’, or later investors.
The Sunday Times understands that Sunshine rewarded its top achievers with Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars.
Phang often held seminars on the Sunshine scheme in Genting, Taiwan and Singapore.
His appearance at these seminars usually evoked shouts of ‘Lao Da! Lao Da!’
‘Everyone treated him like the fortune god,’ said David.
The bespectacled man is described as inspiring, persuasive, positive and motivational by those who know him.
In a 2007 interview, Phang told The Straits Times: ‘I’m very good, better than Warren Buffett.’
The latter is a successful American investor.
A captivating speaker, Phang would even sing to inspire his listeners. Hokkien hit Ai Pia Jia Eh Ya (Only Those Who Fight Will Win) and Chinese pop group S.H.E’s Superstar are two of his favourite tunes.
He has four children aged 15 to 23 and lives in a luxurious three-storey landed property in Jurong West.
He grew up on a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang and worked in various jobs to pay for his O-level studies. He worked at a shipyard, studying at night for his A levels. He is blind in his left eye.
After getting a National University of Singapore degree in economics and statistics, he worked for Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News for six years. In 2003, he set up the Empire Group Alliance.
Phang is now on $600,000 bail and his passport has been impounded.
1 comment:
How investors were dazzled by Sunshine
The impressive office, agents in suits and the charisma of ‘Lao Da’ ensured investors’ trust
By Mavis Toh
15 February 2009
Madam Mary Zhang’s life savings are gone and her best friend hates her. Still, she believes in James Phang.
Madam Zhang, 39, a China-born study mama, first invested $210,000 in Sunshine Empire, a multi-level marketer, in October 2007.
Phang founded the Empire Group Alliance, which includes Sunshine.
A friend introduced Madam Zhang to the ‘profitable scheme’ which promised hefty rebates. That same month, two of her closest friends also placed $500,000 of their savings in the scheme.
In November that year, monthly cash rebates to Sunshine participants ceased after the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) began a probe into the company’s operations.
Two weeks ago, Phang, 49, Sunshine’s adviser, was charged with criminal breach of trust relating to the company’s dealings.
The charges against him include failing to maintain proper accounts, falsifying accounts and two for possessing obscene films.
Another officer, Sunshine president (Asia-Pacific) Jackie Hoo, 29, faces 10 charges, including running a fraudulent business. Two other people - one of whom is Phang’s wife - face related charges.
The main charge alleges that Phang and Hoo ran a Ponzi-like scheme using millions raised from the public.
Between August 2006 and November 2007, Sunshine raked in $189 million from over 20,000 investors in Singapore.
In Ponzi schemes, investors lured by high returns hand over cash, but the returns come from funds pumped in by new investors.
Phang, however, continues to have a loyal following. Among his employees and some investors, he is still regarded as a ‘Lao Da’ (big brother or chief, in Mandarin).
Madam Zhang, for instance, has stayed loyal to Sunshine and its chief.
‘I think he has a strong character,’ she said.
Such sentiments are shared by another Sunshine investor who wants to be known only as David, 24. He has been working under Phang since 2004, in another company selling skin-care and aroma- therapy products.
When Sunshine was formed in 2006, he joined the firm as an agent and invested $24,000 of his own money in the scheme.
‘He made me believe nothing was impossible,’ David said.
Sunshine usually persuaded people to put down $12,000 to buy into its ‘gold plan’, which was said to involve the online trading of goods such as health supplements and lingerie.
The plan offered non-guaranteed but hefty cash rebates.
Before the CAD probe, investors said they were getting their money. Employment agent Vince Ng, 30, invested $12,000 in the scheme in early 2007. Within eight months, he broke even, he said.
He went on to recruit 10 friends and relatives.
When his soccer buddy first introduced him to the scheme, he thought it was too good to be true.
So Mr. Ng made three trips to Sunshine’s then Shenton Way office. He walked away convinced.
He said: ‘I sat there for three hours, and there were at least 50 people who came to invest, many holding cash.’
When the firm later moved into Toa Payoh Hub, its office impressed visitors. The huge compound was lavishly furnished with gold trimmings and lush carpeting.
‘At the entrance, the company’s logo, a lion’s head, was in gold,’ said one investor.
The ‘impressive grand office’ and agents dressed in business suits also convinced Mrs H.C. Lim, 50, to invest $30,000 in the firm.
The administrator said: ‘I thought if it was a big company, nothing could go wrong.’
Investors The Sunday Times spoke to also noticed that many of the agents were people in their 20s.
One agent, who declined to be named, was recruited when he was finishing his national service stint.
‘The firm made us feel like we could succeed even without much education,’ he said.
Some agents, who were also ‘upline’ investors, drove upmarket cars.
In multi-level marketing parlance, uplines are early investors who typically get their returns - from new funds put up by ‘downlines’, or later investors.
The Sunday Times understands that Sunshine rewarded its top achievers with Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars.
Phang often held seminars on the Sunshine scheme in Genting, Taiwan and Singapore.
His appearance at these seminars usually evoked shouts of ‘Lao Da! Lao Da!’
‘Everyone treated him like the fortune god,’ said David.
The bespectacled man is described as inspiring, persuasive, positive and motivational by those who know him.
In a 2007 interview, Phang told The Straits Times: ‘I’m very good, better than Warren Buffett.’
The latter is a successful American investor.
A captivating speaker, Phang would even sing to inspire his listeners. Hokkien hit Ai Pia Jia Eh Ya (Only Those Who Fight Will Win) and Chinese pop group S.H.E’s Superstar are two of his favourite tunes.
He has four children aged 15 to 23 and lives in a luxurious three-storey landed property in Jurong West.
He grew up on a vegetable farm in Lim Chu Kang and worked in various jobs to pay for his O-level studies. He worked at a shipyard, studying at night for his A levels. He is blind in his left eye.
After getting a National University of Singapore degree in economics and statistics, he worked for Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News for six years. In 2003, he set up the Empire Group Alliance.
Phang is now on $600,000 bail and his passport has been impounded.
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