Jail for man who worked with others to cheat 2 victims of over $541k in investment scheme

SINGAPORE - He was a Singapore Armed Forces regular when he worked with others to cheat two people of more than $541,000 in total in an investment scheme between 2016 and 2017.

The case involved two victims – V1, a 44-year-old man who handed over $400,000 and V2, a 43-year-old woman who invested more than $141,000 in the scheme.

The offender, Lim Jun Hong, 35, who is now a director at a firm called Vican Construction, was sentenced to two years and six months’ jail on May 28 after he pleaded guilty to a cheating charge linked to V1 which involved $321,000.

Three other charges relating to the remaining amount, involving both V1 and V2, were taken into consideration during sentencing.

The cases linked to Lim’s alleged accomplices – Dexter Lau Yu Hong, 28, and Kang Chee Wee, 36, also known as Ziwei – are still pending.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tay Zhi Jie told the court that the trio had solicited investments for a scheme called 1Meltz, said to be based in the United States, adding: “Ziwei was purportedly an agent of a wealthy ‘US Boss’ who had various investments and businesses in the US.

“The trio invited people to invest in the business of the ‘US Boss’ and they promised a 140 per cent return on investment in merely 28 days.”

However, “US Boss” did not exist and there was no business in the US to generate any returns.

In fact, 1Meltz was a Ponzi scheme and the DPP said the trio took most of the investors’ cash for themselves and to pay other investors their promised “investment returns”.

According to court documents, Kang conceptualised the idea for 1Meltz in 2016. He used $150,000 of the investors’ monies to buy a pub called Cows and Coolies.

The prosecutor said that in mid-2016, he shared his idea about the scheme with Lim, who agreed to promote it. Lau was roped in later that year.

DPP Tay said: “(The trio) knew that investors’ money would not be used to invest in any business based in the US and would instead be split among themselves and used to pay other investors... At least two of the investors who invested in 1Meltz (V1 and V2) were deceived by the false representations made by the trio.”

V1 got to know about 1Meltz in late November 2016, and he met Lim and Kang at Katong Shopping Centre.

The prosecutor said the pair told V1 that 1Meltz invested in stocks and properties in the US.

Lim also lied to V1 by claiming to be a rich man, to create the impression that he was a successful investor.

V1 was then duped into investing in 1Meltz between Nov 25, 2016, and Feb 29, 2017.

During an investigation into the case, he recalled that he received 40 per cent returns for his investments up till early February 2017, and he reinvested most, if not all, of his returns into 1Meltz.

However, he did not receive any returns for his final investments, which he made between Feb 19 and 29, 2017.

In total, V1 received $231,000 in returns and suffered a loss of $169,000.

The DPP said that in early 2017, Lau stopped taking part in the conspiracy and distanced himself from Kang and Lim, who continued with the ruse.

The offences came to light when police received several reports about it that year and the trio were charged in court in January 2024.

For each count of cheating, an offender can be jailed for up to 10 years’ jail and fined.