A Clyde Hill couple is charged with wire fraud for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from investors to live a lavish lifestyle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to federal investigators Sung Hong (aka Laurence Hong) and his wife Hyun Joo Hong (aka Grace Hong) used money entrusted to them to enrich themselves instead.
The couple was arrested at the house they are renting in the Clyde Hill. The FBI spent hours searching the home and were still there when a KIRO-7 crew arrived.
Investigators say the couple spent the money on an extravagant life by renting a 9,000-square-foot home in Clyde Hill and buying expensive cars, as well as a 45-foot yacht and expensive vacations. The couple spent $16,000 at a hotel in the Bahamas in January for a family vacation, according to court documents.
According to the complaint, the pair used their faith to get church members to trust them to invest. The name of their company is Pishon Holding LLC. One church invested $1million and lost $300,000 in a single trade, according to investigators, then the Hongs withdrew $150,000 for advisor fees.
The couple lied about returns they were able to get on earlier investments and about their certifications and qualifications, investigators said.
The Hongs appeared in Federal Court Friday afternoon. The couple will be held until Tuesday when there will be a detention review. The couple's three young children are with care givers. According to charging documents many of the Hong's victims are in California.
Laurence Hong pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2007, for stealing from a neighbor in Kirkland. Hong still owes $794,000 in restitution. Federal investigators say Hong changed the spelling of his first name from "Lawrence" to "Laurence" and went right back to committing fraud.
Cox Media Group
