A Singapore court has sentenced a local man to five years and ten months in prison for his central role in a extensive fraudulent scheme that cheated customers out of millions of dollars paid for high-end luxury goods that were never delivered. The individual, Pi Jiapeng, aged 30, admitted to three charges, including money laundering and fraudulent trading, on October 14th.
This sentencing concludes a chapter of a case that first came to light over three years ago, following the man's arrest in August 2022. The situation gained significant public attention when Pi and his wife, a Thai national named Pansuk Siriwipa, became fugitives after fleeing Singapore while under police investigation. Pansuk, identified as the primary architect of the operation, was herself sentenced to 14 years in prison earlier in October 2024.
The couple's businesses, Tradenation and Tradeluxury, were presented as reputable sellers of luxury watches and handbags. They operated on a pre-order model, attracting customers by offering prices significantly lower, by 10 to 20 percent, than other resellers in the region. This attractive pricing required customers to make full advance payments for their orders.
Initially, the prosecution explained, the plan was to source these luxury items from overseas suppliers, which would allow for the lower prices. However, the companies soon encountered difficulties securing goods from these suppliers and were forced to purchase from local sources at a higher cost, eroding their profitability. By the end of February 2022, the businesses were in severe financial distress, with over 1.8 million dollars in orders that they could not fulfill.
Despite knowing the companies were insolvent, the couple continued to accept new orders and collect payments from customers. The court heard that Pi was largely indifferent to the financial health of his companies, so long as he could continue withdrawing a substantial monthly salary of 52,000 dollars to support his lifestyle. The couple's personal spending, funded by customer payments, was extravagant. This included a down payment of over 170,000 dollars for a Chevrolet Corvette, a car Pi desired because he believed he would be the only owner of such a vehicle in Singapore. They also purchased a house in Bangkok valued at over two million dollars.
The prosecution argued that Pi, as a director of both companies, had a clear duty to operate them responsibly. It was stated that he had reason to believe the businesses were being run like a Ponzi scheme, where new customer funds were used to pay for earlier orders and their personal expenses, yet he allowed this to continue for an extended period. In total, 187 police reports were filed against the couple, with the scam involving an estimated 32 million dollars.
After their initial arrest in June 2022, the couple fled Singapore on July 4th by hiding in the container compartment of a lorry, leading to international arrest warrants. They were subsequently apprehended in Johor Bahru on August 11th, 2022, with assistance from the Royal Thai Police, and were returned to Singapore. Two individuals who assisted their escape were previously sentenced to a year in jail each in September 2022. The court noted that Pi has not made any restitution to the victims who suffered financial losses.
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