Delaware Man Sentenced to 97 Months on Fraud and Money Laundering Charges

WILMINGTON, DE—Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Kyong Ho Kim, age 45, of Newark, Delaware, was sentenced today by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, to 97 months’ imprisonment and full restitution after being convicted of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity (money laundering, 18 U.S.C. § 1957).

The defendant solicited and obtained over U.S. $2.2 million from more than eight victims in Delaware and elsewhere, through a fraudulent foreign currency trading scheme. The defendant represented that he was a successful foreign currency trader and that he would invest his victims’ money in foreign currency markets. Meanwhile, the defendant diverted most of the funds into his personal bank accounts. The defendant continued the fraud over a decade by falsifying bank records and sending victims false financial statements, indicating that their investments had grown through foreign currency trading. The defendant spent the diverted funds on personal items such as a high-end Mercedes, a yacht, and a lease on a waterfront home.

U.S. Attorney Oberly said of the sentence, “Fraud schemes targeting individual investors have a devastating impact on the victims’ financial and emotional well-being. This case should send a clear signal that those who commit fraud by representing themselves as so-called investment advisors will face significant penalties.”

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren M. McEvoy and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.