A Suwanee-based real estate agent will serve more than seven years in prison after defrauding clients to the tune of $22 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Emily Moerdomo Fu, 58, pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection with the scheme on July 12. She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story on Dec. 10.
PREVIOUSLY | DOJ: Gwinnett real estate agent defrauded clients out of $22M
Fu operated Capital Investment International Management Inc. and conducted real estate purchases for clients. A group of clients noticed “irregularities” in Fu’s work in November 2017 and confronted her. She admitted to embezzling $930,000, a fraction of what the Justice Department said she actually took from clients.
“While Fu was a well-respected real estate and financial professional, she took advantage of her reputation and clients’ trust to defraud them,” said U.S. Attorney BJay Pak in a Justice Department release. “In some cases she created fictitious closings and then pocketed the money. In other instances, she went through with the closing and used the property as collateral for unauthorized loans for her own benefit, meanwhile embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in managing such properties.”
Properties involved in the scheme included the Shoppes at Brannon in Cumming, Sugarloaf Center in Duluth and the Shoppes at Mall of Georgia in Buford. Fu told clients she would handle the financials and property management for them, but clients became suspicious when they received a past due notice for a property they had paid for in an all-cash transaction.
Fu took $1.1 million through inflated sale prices, $8 million in fake property sales and $8.67 million in unauthorized loans, according to an indictment. The Justice Department said her fraud amounted to $22,043,640.67. She must pay back that exact amount in restitution.
Fu will also spend seven years, three months in federal prison and three years on supervised release.
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