Financial adviser Won Sok Lee pleads guilty to multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme fraud

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

As first reported by the Sun Sentinel, a former Riviera Beach attorney recently plead guilty to a massive Ponzi scheme investment (securities) fraud in the operation of multimillion-dollar hedge funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Won Sok Lee, 39, was charged with two felony counts in connection with the operation of a hedge fund formerly run by the KL Financial Group LLC in Florida and California. Those charges included conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

In December 2006, Lee, along with associates, and brothers, John Kim and Yung Bae Kim, used quarterly mailings and website postings to misrepresent to investors that the KL Financial Group was a successful family of hedge funds.

In reality, the company lost millions of dollars and used new investors’ monies to make payments owed to previous investors. Over a five-year period, KL received approximately $194 million in investor funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Groups operated by the defendants– KL Group, LLC, KL Triangulum Management, LLC, and Shoreland Trading, LLC– also all pleaded guilty in the fraud conspiracy and were ordered to pay $78.5 million in restitution.

Lee, who was extradited from South Korea where he was a fugitive back to Florida in April, will be sentenced Dec. 11. Lee faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 and restitution to fraud victims. The Kim brothers were sentenced and are now in prison.

If you have questions about investments you made with Won Sok Lee, KL Group, LLC, KL Triangulum Management, LLC, and Shoreland Trading, LLC, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. may be able to help. The Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A. is a South Florida securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and Chapter 7 bankruptcy law firm based in Boca Raton. David Carter is a securities attorney that reviews securities fraud cases throughout the country and Florida, including reviewing securities fraud cases in Tampa, Orlando, Miami, West Palm Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Vero Beach. To contact the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., please call 561-750-6999, or email us at contact@carterpa.com. For more information about the Law Offices of David A. Carter, P.A., you can also visit our website at www.carterpa.com.

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