Investment scam wave has hit Taiwan hard over the past week. Specifically, the Criminal Investigation Bureau announced on Friday that it arrested 21 people for defrauding a retired teacher out of nearly NT$50 million. The suspects impersonated financial expert Lee Shu-fang to lure victims into Line groups. Group members played multiple roles to create the impression of a legitimate investment community. Consequently, this investment scam wave has now spread across multiple fraudulent operations.
The group instructed victims to download a fake investment app. The app displayed fabricated gains showing returns up to NT$250 million. These false figures encouraged victims to make further cash or gold payments. A retired teacher in his 60s mortgaged his home and invested his life savings. He lost approximately NT$50 million before realizing the truth. The victim only understood it was a scam after the group asked for tens of millions in processing fees. Thus, this investment scam wave has devastated individual victims financially.
Police identified Kuo Chi-feng and his brother as key suspects in the case. The brothers lived a lavish lifestyle despite having no apparent source of income. Officers seized a Porsche Cayenne, a Mercedes-Benz, 12 luxury handbags, and NT$390,000 in cash from their residence. The suspects now face charges under the Money Laundering Control Act, the Organized Crime Prevention Act, and the Criminal Code. Moreover, this investment scam wave has funded a conspicuously wealthy lifestyle for the alleged ringleaders.
Separately, the Taipei District Court approved prosecutors’ request to detain four more suspects in another investment scam. The alleged ringleader, Chiu Chih-hao, solicited cash or ethereum investments for a fraudulent scheme called TBT Symptom. This scheme defrauded thousands of people out of more than NT$5 billion combined. The group claimed to operate a decentralized finance platform. They offered a cryptocurrency called EGT as collateral and promised monthly returns of 3 to 7 percent. As a result, this investment scam wave has reached an industrial scale affecting thousands of victims.
Chiu and eight other suspects have been detained since January. A second round of investigations on Thursday involved nine additional suspects. Chiu was also implicated in last year’s Absolute Energy scam. That scheme launched in 2023 and claimed to invest in cryptocurrency and clean energy. It promised returns of 25 to 42 percent. Authorities later found it was a Ponzi scheme that defrauded 316 people out of a combined NT$270 million. Therefore, this investment scam wave reveals a pattern of repeated offending by the same criminal networks.
Prosecutors have transferred all suspects to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. The court released two suspects on bail of NT$500,000 and NT$100,000 respectively. Authorities continue to investigate the full scope of these fraudulent operations. Victims are coming forward as news of the arrests spreads. However, the investment scam wave shows no signs of stopping as new schemes emerge. Police urge the public to verify investment opportunities through official channels. Anyone who invested in these schemes should contact authorities immediately.
