A 70-year-old woman who owed money to loan sharks set up a fake beauty product investment scheme to repay her debts, cheating 15 people of more than S$330,000.
The woman, Liang Yuemei (transliteration), targeted two beauty salons and scammed both staff and customers. She was sentenced to 66 months in jail on Wednesday, Jan 28, after pleading guilty to four charges. The remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing, reported Shin Min Daily News.
Liang faced a total of 15 charges, including three counts of criminal breach of trust and 12 counts of cheating.
According to court documents, Liang had borrowed at least S$70,000 from illegal moneylenders before 2018. Unable to repay the debt, she was harassed and chased for payment. To raise money, she came up with a fake investment plan involving beauty products and went to beauty salons to look for victims.
Between June and November 2019, Liang frequently visited Neo Art Palace, a beauty salon along Whampoa Road. She convinced six staff members and customers there to invest in her so-called beauty products, claiming they would receive high returns.
The biggest victim was a beautician. In June 2019, while providing a manicure service, Liang claimed she was also in the beauty industry and sold exclusive products, then invited the beautician to invest. The beautician first invested S$9,630 over three occasions and successfully received S$15,120 in returns.
After seeing returns, the beautician told eight relatives about the investment plan and encouraged them to join in. Together with her relatives and her own savings, she handed over S$56,940 to Liang in four transactions between Nov 9 and Nov 27.
Liang promised that by late December 2019 to January 2020, they would receive total returns of S$114,580. When the beautician later asked about the payout, Liang lied and claimed she needed to attend a meeting with company shareholders and would bring her along to collect the money.
The beautician later searched for Liang’s background online and discovered she had previously been involved in cheating cases. She lodged a police report on Jan 14, 2020. Liang eventually returned only S$5,000.
Between July and November 2019, Liang collected S$249,994 from 12 victims at Neo Art Palace. She compensated only eight victims a total of S$93,420, leaving S$156,574 unreturned.
“I am old… I will change”
Liang had previously used the same scam method and was jailed for 32 months, but reoffended after being released. After her latest sentencing, she said: “I am old… I will change.”
According to earlier reports, Liang cheated victims between 2011 and 2016 by promoting investments in “Janssen” beauty products, as well as skincare items and deer placenta. Nine victims lost a total of S$285,825. Some sold jewellery or took bank loans to raise money for the investments. Liang was sentenced to 32 months in jail then.
The prosecution said Liang committed similar offences about a year after her release and sought a jail term of between 68 and 74 months.
Her lawyer asked the court for leniency, citing her age and health issues. After sentencing, Liang told the judge:
“I am old. I know I was wrong. I will change.”
