September 20, 2007

Stomping Hsu

Prominent Democratic Party fund-raiser Norman Hsu - who lavished large sums on the Tennessee Democratic Party - may have gotten the money through a massive Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors in New York say. (And if there's anything Tennessee Democrats know about, it's Ponzi schemes!)

Here's the latest news on Hsu:

Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu was charged with defrauding investors of $60 million in "a massive Ponzi scheme'' and violating federal campaign-finance law. U.S. prosecutors in New York filed a criminal complaint against Hsu, 56, today, accusing him of wire, mail and election fraud. Hsu also pressured investors to contribute to political candidates he favored, government lawyers said.

As managing director of Components Ltd. and Next Components Ltd., Hsu recruited investors by promising high returns on short- term investments, using money from new victims to pay off older ones, prosecutors said. Threatening to drop them, he forced clients to contribute ``tens of thousands of dollars'' to U.S. presidential and congressional candidates, according to the complaint.

"This case is about self-promotion and greed,'' U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said at a press conference in Manhattan. "Hsu perpetrated a massive Ponzi scheme to support his lavish life style and in the process stole tens of millions of dollars from unsuspecting investors.''