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A Tongan woman who was at the centre of a global Ponzi Scheme which
allegedly defrauded millions out of Tongans in New Zealand, Australia and the United
States has been charged in California.
Sixty One year-old Tilila Siola’a Walker Sumchai claimed she used a ‘secret
algorithm’ to lure investors for defrauding, the Attorney General Office in California said.
As we reported previously, Tongans in New Zealand had been left without cash for food as the country was plunged into Covid lockdown in 2021. These people were the victims of pyramid scheme, Tongi Tupe Nu’usila, which was operated by Shumchai and her associates in New Zealand.
According to court documents, between January 2021 and October 2021, Walker Sumchai orchestrated a scheme to defraud investors in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand from her Stockton office, the AG Office said.
“Walker Sumchai solicited Tongan investors and promised them that if they gave her money to purchase shares of the “Tongi Tupe” investment program, she would invest the money, and they would receive their principal investments back and thousands of dollars in returns within weeks or months.
“She also promised investors that if they gave her $30,000, within months they would receive a home in Lodi worth approximately $480,000. Instead, she took investors’ money and used it for her own personal expenses, including gambling, and used it to pay back and lull earlier investors. More than 1,000 investors invested over $13 million with Walker Sumchai”.
The US’s Richmond resident is facing more than 30 counts after law enforcement
officials say she ran a $13 million Ponzi scheme out of her Stockton office.
She is facing charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and the sale of unregistered
securities.
She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
If you believe you are a victim of the Tongi Tupe investment program, click here.
