Over the span of a decade, Hong Kong businessman and race-car driver Jacky Yeung invested in buildings, a travel agency and rare-earth mines, to the tune of $20 million, according to court documents. But the only dividend he got? A bruised ego.
Yeung was the target of an elaborate long con that saw him wined and dined from Dubai to the South of France. The scam involved fake government officials, gorgeous blondes and even a motorcade. It was perpetrated by Valentyn Belan, a small-time Ukrainian swindler with big ambitions.
This past October, Belan, 39, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced by a US District Court in New York City to nine years in prison. In a letter to Judge Gregory H. Woods, prosecuting attorney Geoffrey S. Berman wrote that Belan’s “fraud was stunning and brazen in its scope.”
This saga began in Kherson, Ukraine, where Belan managed a so-called marriage agency — essentially a service designed to hook up foreign, often affluent men with potential brides.
In 2008, a golden goose fell into Belan’s lap when, according to a defense sentencing memo, Yeung “arrived in Ukraine possibly looking for a bride but also quickly engaged Mr. Belan about potential investment opportunities.”
(Yeung’s attorney strongly denied his client was looking for a wife.)
Belan charmed the racer into investing in a travel agency. A year later, Yeung had also bought seven buildings and a sports field for some $9 million.
None of the properties were actually purchased.
But Belan kept Yeung on the hook by wiring him around $50,000, which the Ukrainian claimed was rental income, each month.
Next, Belan pressed Yeung into investing in a rare-earth mine, which would provide metals for electronic devices. Again, it was only a figment of the scammer’s imagination.
And what an imagination it was. To convince Yeung of his credibility, Belan in 2010 organized a motorcade for the driver in Ukraine and introduced him to a government minister at her estate. She was, in fact, a woman Belan had hired to play the role; the home was a hotel.
Belan also brought in a bogus fellow investor who presented documents that claimed she had bought into the rare-earth enterprise for around $500,000.
Yeung — who one insider described as “into racing and living large and looking for opportunities” — fell for it all.
In the summer of 2010, Belan and Yeung traveled to Dubai to work on a deal for a mine. There the driver was introduced to the (non-existent) government minister’s daughter, who Belan claimed was a Yale graduate. Yeung questioned why this Ivy Leaguer spoke no English. According to court documents, Belan said she “did not need to learn [it] because she had studied Russian literature.”
From 2011 to 2013, Yeung wired a total of $4.5 million to Belan’s bank account. The driver claims he sold his home and his Bentley and McLaren luxury autos to free up funds.
By 2014, Belan convinced Yeung to sell a building he owned in order to fund another mining investment. Belan even provided “buyers” for the building, saying they would directly pay Belan, who would use the cash to purchase mine shares.
Yeung — who one insider described as “into racing and living large and looking for opportunities” — fell for it all.
In the summer of 2010, Belan and Yeung traveled to Dubai to work on a deal for a mine. There the driver was introduced to the (non-existent) government minister’s daughter, who Belan claimed was a Yale graduate. Yeung questioned why this Ivy Leaguer spoke no English. According to court documents, Belan said she “did not need to learn [it] because she had studied Russian literature.”
From 2011 to 2013, Yeung wired a total of $4.5 million to Belan’s bank account. The driver claims he sold his home and his Bentley and McLaren luxury autos to free up funds.
By 2014, Belan convinced Yeung to sell a building he owned in order to fund another mining investment. Belan even provided “buyers” for the building, saying they would directly pay Belan, who would use the cash to purchase mine shares.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...nned-out-of-20-million-in-elaborate-scam/amp/
Yeung was the target of an elaborate long con that saw him wined and dined from Dubai to the South of France. The scam involved fake government officials, gorgeous blondes and even a motorcade. It was perpetrated by Valentyn Belan, a small-time Ukrainian swindler with big ambitions.
This past October, Belan, 39, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced by a US District Court in New York City to nine years in prison. In a letter to Judge Gregory H. Woods, prosecuting attorney Geoffrey S. Berman wrote that Belan’s “fraud was stunning and brazen in its scope.”
This saga began in Kherson, Ukraine, where Belan managed a so-called marriage agency — essentially a service designed to hook up foreign, often affluent men with potential brides.
In 2008, a golden goose fell into Belan’s lap when, according to a defense sentencing memo, Yeung “arrived in Ukraine possibly looking for a bride but also quickly engaged Mr. Belan about potential investment opportunities.”
(Yeung’s attorney strongly denied his client was looking for a wife.)
Belan charmed the racer into investing in a travel agency. A year later, Yeung had also bought seven buildings and a sports field for some $9 million.
None of the properties were actually purchased.
But Belan kept Yeung on the hook by wiring him around $50,000, which the Ukrainian claimed was rental income, each month.
Next, Belan pressed Yeung into investing in a rare-earth mine, which would provide metals for electronic devices. Again, it was only a figment of the scammer’s imagination.
And what an imagination it was. To convince Yeung of his credibility, Belan in 2010 organized a motorcade for the driver in Ukraine and introduced him to a government minister at her estate. She was, in fact, a woman Belan had hired to play the role; the home was a hotel.
Belan also brought in a bogus fellow investor who presented documents that claimed she had bought into the rare-earth enterprise for around $500,000.
Yeung — who one insider described as “into racing and living large and looking for opportunities” — fell for it all.
In the summer of 2010, Belan and Yeung traveled to Dubai to work on a deal for a mine. There the driver was introduced to the (non-existent) government minister’s daughter, who Belan claimed was a Yale graduate. Yeung questioned why this Ivy Leaguer spoke no English. According to court documents, Belan said she “did not need to learn [it] because she had studied Russian literature.”
From 2011 to 2013, Yeung wired a total of $4.5 million to Belan’s bank account. The driver claims he sold his home and his Bentley and McLaren luxury autos to free up funds.
By 2014, Belan convinced Yeung to sell a building he owned in order to fund another mining investment. Belan even provided “buyers” for the building, saying they would directly pay Belan, who would use the cash to purchase mine shares.
Yeung — who one insider described as “into racing and living large and looking for opportunities” — fell for it all.
In the summer of 2010, Belan and Yeung traveled to Dubai to work on a deal for a mine. There the driver was introduced to the (non-existent) government minister’s daughter, who Belan claimed was a Yale graduate. Yeung questioned why this Ivy Leaguer spoke no English. According to court documents, Belan said she “did not need to learn [it] because she had studied Russian literature.”
From 2011 to 2013, Yeung wired a total of $4.5 million to Belan’s bank account. The driver claims he sold his home and his Bentley and McLaren luxury autos to free up funds.
By 2014, Belan convinced Yeung to sell a building he owned in order to fund another mining investment. Belan even provided “buyers” for the building, saying they would directly pay Belan, who would use the cash to purchase mine shares.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost...nned-out-of-20-million-in-elaborate-scam/amp/
