美國華裔商人Benjamin Wey遭刑事指控
A New York businessman has been criminally charged with using “reverse mergers” between Chinese firms and US shell companies to make millions of dollars in illicit profits, which he used to finance his lavish lifestyle, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday.
週四啓封的一份起訴書顯示，一名紐約商人受到了刑事指控，罪名是利用中國公司與美國殼公司之間的“借殼上市”賺取數百萬美元非法利潤。這名商人用賺到的這些錢來支撐自己的奢靡生活。
Benjamin Wey, founder of New York Global Group, which also has an office in Beijing, was arrested at his home in Manhattan on Thursday. His Geneva-based banker, Seref Dogan Erbek, was also charged and remains at large, the US Attorney’s office in Manhattan said.
週四，紐約國際集團(New York Global Group)創始人Benjamin Wey在他位於曼哈頓的家裏被捕。曼哈頓的聯邦檢察官辦公室表示，Wey派駐在日內瓦的銀行家謝雷夫多安埃爾貝克(Seref Dogan Erbek)也受到指控、但仍未被捕。紐約國際集團在北京也有辦事處。
US authorities have been cracking down on possible fraud and accounting irregularities at US-listed Chinese companies involved in reverse mergers, but criminal charges in such cases have been rare.
美國當局一直在打擊通過“借殼”在美上市的中國企業可能存在的欺詐與會計違規行爲，但在這類案子中提起刑事指控還非常罕見。
In a parallel case, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced civil charges against Mr Wey, his wife and his sister, along with two of Mr Wey’s attorneys. Mr Erbek was also charged.
在與此案並行的案子中，美國證交會(SEC)對Wey、他的妻子、他的姐妹，以及他的兩名律師提起了民事指控。埃爾貝克也受到了指控。
A separate attorney for Mr Wey said his client “denies the charges against him and looks forward to clearing his name.” Mr Erbek could not be reached for comment.
Wey的另一名律師表示，他的當事人“否認了針對他的指控，並希望還他一個清白。”記者無法聯繫到埃爾貝克請其置評。
From 2007 to 2011, Mr Wey told companies in China that wanted to raise capital in the US that he could facilitate reverse mergers for them, which he orchestrated with US shell companies, the indictment said.
起訴書顯示，從2007年到2011年，Wey告訴想到美國融資的中國企業，他可爲它們在美“借殼上市”提供便利。
Mr Wey, 43, hid his ownership interest in the new, publicly traded companies that resulted from the reverse mergers, and manipulated markets so he could sell his investments at artificially inflated prices, according to the indictment.
起訴書稱，今年43歲的Wey隱瞞了自己在借殼上市後的新公司中持有的股份，並且操縱市場，以使自己能在被人爲推高的價格上賣掉所持股份。
For example, Mr Wey enticed retail brokers to solicit their customers to buy stock in the companies on margin, meaning that they borrowed from their broker to purchase the stock, the indictment said. At the same time, the brokers discouraged their customers from selling the shares to maintain the stock price artificially.
比如，Wey曾慫恿零售經紀商誘使他們的客戶以保證金交易方式買入這些公司的股票。同時，這些經紀商還鼓勵客戶不要賣出這些股票，以人爲地維持住股價。
The Nasdaq-traded companies that resulted from the reverse mergers are SmartHeat, which makes heat exchangers, Deer Consumer Products, which manufactures kitchen appliances, and CleanTech Innovations, which makes windmills.
通過“借殼”在納斯達克(Nasdaq)上市的公司有生產熱交換器的太宇機電(SmartHeat)，製造廚房用具的德爾集團(Deer Consumer Products)，以及生產風力發電機套筒的新興佳集團(CleanTech Innovations)。
To hide his ownership interest, Mr Wey, with the help of Mr Erbek, purposely structured nominee holdings so that they stayed below the 5 per cent ownership level that would draw closer scrutiny from regulators, according to the allegations.
起訴書的指控顯示，爲了隱瞞自己持有的股份，Wey在埃爾貝克的幫助下，刻意構建了代持股份安排，以使自己的持股比例低於5%——如果高於5%，會招致監管機構的更嚴密審視。
Profits from the alleged scheme were transferred from bank accounts in the US in the name of Mr Wey’s sister and other associates to accounts in Switzerland and Hong Kong. The money, including more than $20m in cash, was then allegedly repatriated back to the US for the benefit of Mr Wey.
從上述安排中獲得的利潤，被從Wey的姐妹和其他同夥名下的美國銀行賬戶轉至在瑞士和香港的銀行賬戶。據稱，這些錢（其中包括逾2000萬美元現金）而後被匯回到了Wey在美國的賬戶。
Part of the profits from the alleged scheme was used to buy an apartment at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York’s Battery Park, according to the allegations.
這些指控顯示，被控安排產生的部分利潤，被用來購買紐約炮臺公園(Battery Park)內麗思卡爾頓酒店(Ritz-Carlton Hotel)的一套房間。
In a separate case, a jury awarded Mr Wey’s former assistant $18m in June in a sexual harassment and defamation lawsuit.
今年6月，在另一宗性騷擾和誹謗官司中，陪審團裁定Wey向他的前助理賠償1800萬美元。
In February, in another case involving Chinese reverse mergers, the Chinese units of the Big Four global auditing firms agreed to pay $2m for failing to produce documents for companies being investigated for accounting fraud.
今年2月，在另一宗牽涉中國企業“借殼上市”的案子中，國際四大會計師事務所的中國分部同意支付200萬美元和解金，原因是它們未能提交正在接受會計欺詐調查的中國客戶的審計文件。
The settlement with the SEC spared the auditors from a six-month work ban imposed by a US judge. US regulators were seeking documents for more than 100 Chinese companies listed in the US.
與美國證交會達成和解之後，由一名美國法官做出的暫停“四大”在美執業資質6個月的判決被撤銷了。當時，美國監管機構要求“四大”提交逾100家在美上市的中國企業的審計文件。
