Woman stole millions in fraud scheme and spent it on luxury cars and travel, feds say
She got millions from investors who thought the money would go toward building a resort in Coachella Valley, then used the money to finance a “lavish lifestyle” of luxury cars, travel, and high-end clothing.
Now Ruixue “Serena” Shi is going to prison for 20 years in the scheme that netted her tens of millions of dollars from the investors. A judge also ordered her to pay over $35 million in restitution, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Until August 2020, Shi was free on bond in the case. Law enforcement discovered she had been using a “contraband” iPhone to research how to flee the country, and took her back into federal custody. She pleaded guilty in October 2021 to wire fraud.
Shi attempted to withdraw her guilty plea at her sentencing hearing on Monday, Nov. 21, the release says. The judge told her: “There has been no acceptance of responsibility; there has been a denial of responsibility.”
While she was the general manager of Global House Buyer LLC, a China-based real estate company with an office in Los Angeles, she made an agreement with a subsidiary of an LA lifestyle hospitality company to build the resort under brand name “Hyde.” It was supposed to be a 207-unit luxury condo and hotel complex “with 95,000 square feet of conference facilities, a pool, spa, fitness center and other amenities.”
She gave sales presentations at hotels and contacted investors through WeChat to solicit their investments, the release said. WeChat is a Chinese messaging, social media and mobile payment app.
She told them their money would “only be used to fund the Hyde development project.”
Then she spent their millions, including $300,000 on two luxury cars, $2.2 million on luxury travel and concierge services and about $800,000 for full-service styling services with an agency in Beverly Hills, the release said. She also spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars of victims’ money on high-end clothing designers, restaurants, and other stores.”
Many investors sent statements to the court that described how they relied on Shi’s “false promises that their investments would assist them in securing visas to immigrate to the United States.” One of them wrote that he lost his retirement savings to Shi’s scheme and contemplated suicide.
They “invested” at least $26 million in her fraud scheme, though prosecutors said the actual figure could be higher.
“Largely targeting her fellow Chinese nationals...Shi preyed on her victims’ hopes for a better life,” prosecutors said during the sentencing. “She exploited her victims’ ignorance of English and trust in the soundness of the American economy. And while her victims suffered financial ruin and psychological torment, [Shi] was living large off their investments.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Woman stole millions in fraud scheme and spent it on luxury cars and travel, feds say."
