《TAIPEI TIMES》 Arrest warrant issued over suspected K-pop scam

By Jason Pan / Staff reporter

Authorities have summoned nine people for questioning over their suspected affiliation with a Taipei entertainment promotion agency that is being investigated over a suspected investment scam, in which investors lost about NT$130 million （US$4.45 million） after investing in South Korean pop music （K-pop） and television stars.

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The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday raided 12 locations and requested the detention of two people after questioning suspects yesterday.

Prosecutors also issued a wanted bulletin for Chuang Li-huo （莊力霍）, the main proprietor of Aaron International Entertainment Co （亞倫國際娛樂公司） and the alleged mastermind of the operation.

Prosecutors alleged that Chuang and his staff from November 2015 to August last year organized a series of investment seminars to attract investors to his company’s promotional events, concerts and programs associated with K-pop stars and entertainers.

Chuang allegedly promised investors up to 60 percent in yearly interest and was able to attract more than 100 investors, with several investing more than NT$10 million each.

Chuang’s team allegedly told investors that his company had connections with South Korean stars, including the girl groups Twice and Girls’ Generation, singer Taeyeon, actor Park Seo-jun and entertainer Jessica Jung, promising to bring them to Taiwan for concerts, tours and fan meetings.

Chuang’s company never hosted any such events, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that their investigations showed that all the money collected from investors went into the personal bank accounts of Chuang and other suspects, which they used for their own personal expenses.

Records indicate that Chuang left Taiwan in September last year and has been abroad since.

Prosecutors said they intend to press charges against Chuang and the other suspects for fraud, breaching the Banking Act （銀行法） and illegally managing investor funds.

Three suspects — an accountant and two sales executives — were released after questioning on NT$50,000 bail.

K-pop has become popular in Taiwan since Taiwanese K-pop star Chou Tzu-yu （周子瑜） grew to prominence in South Korea.

Chou was last year ranked third in British writer T.C. Chandler’s The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2017.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES