California financier Danny Pang, accused by federal regulators of defrauding investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars and under house arrest since April, will not have his day in court nor will his alleged victims, because he died Saturday morning.
According to media reports, 42-year-old Pang's death is not being ruled as suspicious. However, the Los Angeles coroner's office is awaiting toxicology reports, which could take three weeks to complete.
Pang's death, however, leaves many unanswered questions. Besides financial irregularities, there were rumors that he was involved in the murder of his wife, Janie Pang, a dozen years ago and that he might have ties to Taiwanese organized crime.
Pang was the founder of Private Equity Management Group Inc. and Private Equity Management LLC, or the PEM Group. He was due to face trial next year accused of using PEM Group employees and family members to help him launder more than $300,000 by cashing individual checks in amounts just under $10,000 to avoid filing currency transaction reports.
The Securities and Exchange Commission also has a case pending, in which he was accused of running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded mainly Taiwanese investors.
A court-appointed receiver said Pang appeared to have mismanaged an $823 million investment pool so badly that investors may have lost between $400 million and $600 million.
The firm's investors financed more than $80 million in questionable personal and business expenses, the receiver alleged. And in addition to spending investor money on a "personal and corporate spending spree," Pang paid existing investors with new investor money, "giving rise to claims of a Ponzi scheme," the receiver's report filed with U.S. District Court in California said.
Pang had denied any wrongdoing. - Donna Block
Continue reading below
