美国华裔商人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.

周四启封的一份起诉书显示，一名纽约商人受到了刑事指控，罪名是利用中国公司与美国壳公司之间的“借壳上市”赚取数百万美元非法利润。这名商人用赚到的这些钱来支撑自己的奢靡生活。

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.

周四，纽约国际集团(New York Global Group)创始人Benjamin Wey在他位于曼哈顿的家里被捕。曼哈顿的联邦检察官办公室表示，Wey派驻在日内瓦的银行家谢雷夫多安埃尔贝克(Seref Dogan Erbek)也受到指控、但仍未被捕。纽约国际集团在北京也有办事处。

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.

美国当局一直在打击通过“借壳”在美上市的中国企业可能存在的欺诈与会计违规行为，但在这类案子中提起刑事指控还非常罕见。

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.

在与此案并行的案子中，美国证交会(SEC)对Wey、他的妻子、他的姐妹，以及他的两名律师提起了民事指控。埃尔贝克也受到了指控。

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的另一名律师表示，他的当事人“否认了针对他的指控，并希望还他一个清白。”记者无法联系到埃尔贝克请其置评。

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.

起诉书显示，从2007年到2011年，Wey告诉想到美国融资的中国企业，他可为它们在美“借壳上市”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.

起诉书称，今年43岁的Wey隐瞒了自己在借壳上市后的新公司中持有的股份，并且操纵市场，以使自己能在被人为推高的价格上卖掉所持股份。

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曾怂恿零售经纪商诱使他们的客户以保证金交易方式买入这些公司的股票。同时，这些经纪商还鼓励客户不要卖出这些股票，以人为地维持住股价。

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.

通过“借壳”在纳斯达克(Nasdaq)上市的公司有生产热交换器的太宇机电(SmartHeat)，制造厨房用具的德尔集团(Deer Consumer Products)，以及生产风力发电机套筒的新兴佳集团(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.

起诉书的指控显示，为了隐瞒自己持有的股份，Wey在埃尔贝克的帮助下，刻意构建了代持股份安排，以使自己的持股比例低于5%——如果高于5%，会招致监管机构的更严密审视。

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.

从上述安排中获得的利润，被从Wey的姐妹和其他同伙名下的美国银行账户转至在瑞士和香港的银行账户。据称，这些钱（其中包括逾2000万美元现金）而后被汇回到了Wey在美国的账户。

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.

这些指控显示，被控安排产生的部分利润，被用来购买纽约炮台公园(Battery Park)内丽思卡尔顿酒店(Ritz-Carlton Hotel)的一套房间。

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，在另一宗性骚扰和诽谤官司中，陪审团裁定Wey向他的前助理赔偿1800万美元。

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，在另一宗牵涉中国企业“借壳上市”的案子中，国际四大会计师事务所的中国分部同意支付200万美元和解金，原因是它们未能提交正在接受会计欺诈调查的中国客户的审计文件。

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.

与美国证交会达成和解之后，由一名美国法官做出的暂停“四大”在美执业资质6个月的判决被撤销了。当时，美国监管机构要求“四大”提交逾100家在美上市的中国企业的审计文件。