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.
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.
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.