Won Sok Lee pleads guilty to Ponzi scheme fraud

As first reported by the Sun Sentinel, a former Riviera Beach attorney recently plead guilty to a massive Ponzi scheme investment (securities) fraud in the operation of multimillion-dollar hedge funds, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Won Sok Lee, 39, was charged with two felony counts in connection with the operation of a hedge fund formerly run by the KL Financial Group LLC in Florida and California. Those charges included conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

In December 2006, Lee, along with associates, and brothers, John Kim and Yung Bae Kim, used quarterly mailings and website postings to misrepresent to investors that the KL Financial Group was a successful family of hedge funds.

In reality, the company lost millions of dollars and used new investors’ monies to make payments owed to previous investors. Over a five-year period, KL received approximately $194 million in investor funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Groups operated by the defendants– KL Group, LLC, KL Triangulum Management, LLC, and Shoreland Trading, LLC– also all pleaded guilty in the fraud conspiracy and were ordered to pay $78.5 million in restitution.

Lee, who was extradited from South Korea where he was a fugitive back to Florida in April, will be sentenced Dec. 11. Lee faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 and restitution to fraud victims. The Kim brothers were sentenced and are now in prison.

If you have questions about investments you made with Won Sok Lee, KL Group, LLC, KL Triangulum Management, LLC, and Shoreland Trading, LLC, or if you believe that you have been the victim of a securities fraud, The White Law Group may be able to help. To speak to a securities attorney, please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650 for a free consultation.

The White Law Group is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.

For more information on The White Law Group, visit https://whitesecuritieslaw.com.