SEC Claims Man Preyed on Old Folks

(CN) - A Tacoma man defrauded old people and evangelicals of more than $6 million in an investment scheme, the SEC says in Seattle Federal Court. The agency says John Hyun Joon Min and his company Dime Financial Group promised investors their money would support Third World charities, but Min spent it on himself and lost it on risky investments.

Min, 36, targeted evangelicals in the Pacific Northwest by boasting of "innovative philanthropy," which Min defined as using Dime Financial Group to increase the amount of money going to charity, according to the SEC complaint.

Min allegedly told investors he could earn annual returns of as much as 800 percent, and touted Dime as a safe low-risk investment for retirees' savings.

The SEC says Min raised more than $6 million from more than 60 investors from 2005 through 2008. He allegedly spent the money on a Mercedes, expensive vacations, and private school tuition for his children. He also allegedly bankrolled a failed film venture about evangelical churches. When he did invest money, he lost more than $5 million of it on the foreign exchange market, according to the SEC.

The SEC seeks civil injunctions, return of ill-gotten gains, and fines.

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