Fraud Methodology

​Anthony Chan’s frauds have the following characteristics in common:

• While often still an undischarged bankrupt and always without any available funds, Anthony spontaneously volunteers to invest in the victim’s business or otherwise provide money to the victim
• Anthony will ask the victim for his or her bank account details into which the payment is to be made
• Anthony has made fake investment commitments to at least 25 victims around the world although this is no doubt just the “tip of the iceberg” (hence the Whistleblower Portal and the Victim Portal)
• The earliest known fake investment commitments made by Anthony were in 2015 shortly before he was declared bankrupt, but the vast majority were made while he was still an undischarged bankrupt
• As part of his pretence, Anthony drafts formal legally-binding investment documentation such as a Sponsorship Agreement, a Share Purchase Agreement, a Convertible Loan Agreement or a Deed of Gift
• Anthony sometimes refers to the need to obtain the approval of his “Investment Committee”, giving the victim an assurance that his promises are real and that he is a man of substance, rather than an undischarged bankrupt
• Anthony uses his various Hong Kong and BVI corporate vehicles including Goldenway and Huangjinlu, JinWoLu, Gretchen, AAD Ventures and Nitin as parties to the formal investment agreements, sponsorship agreements or other funding agreements
• Anthony will tell the victim that the money is coming from a bank account in Hong Kong (HSBC) or in Holland (ABN Amro or Rabobank) or in Switzerland (UBS), occasionally from his 'private bank' in the UK, sometimes switching between the various banks when one of them fails to provide the funding
• Anthony will sometimes say that the money comes from the “Chen Swiss Office” or the Chan “multi-family office” comprising money belonging to Anthony himself, John Chan and Patrick Au (despite the fact that John Chan and Patrick Au, like Anthony, are impecunious)
• Sometimes Anthony will say that a large amount of money (for example, USD 12 million rising to USD 100 million) has already been sent from Holland or Switzerland to his company’s HSBC bank account in Hong Kong for onward transfer to the victim
• Anthony will always fail to make payment on the due date and will never fulfil his promises, causing financial loss, reputational damage and emotional distress to his victims, including wasted legal fees (the CEO of one of Anthony's victims described the impact of Anthony's frauds on his business as a 'near death experience')
• When the victim starts asking when the money will arrive, Anthony tells the victim that the money is on the way, that he is “monitoring” the transfers, that he is waiting for banking “slips”, that numerous other transfers he is making have gone through successfully with the recipients having safely received their money, etc
• Anthony will then provide the victim with a range of excuses as to why the money has not arrived, including bank compliance issues, Covid-struck bankers, anti-Covid riots, mistakes and annoying delays by the banks, end of year pressures, Chinese holidays, problems with the international banking system
• When the victim asks for proof of the transfer, or proof that funds have reached Anthony’s HSBC account in Hong Kong, or for a contact person at Rabobank, Anthony will promise to send “confirmation” slips or “TTs” (telegraphic transfers) or details of the contact person, but never does so, or will simply say that the proof is not necessary because the funds are already on their way
• Similarly, when the victim asks for proof of the transfer, Anthony will often tell the victim to look out for “pre-advices” or send the victim purported instructions that he has given to his bank, but which are just Word documents that he has himself created, often created to look as though his instructions involve multiple transfer instructions of which the victim’s transfer is just one
• Anthony will often also send the victim an audio message or text message from his “banker” or "custodian", Dwight Crescioni-Moralies (bankrupted under Chapter 13 of the US Bankruptcy Code) who is in fact a close associate of Anthony and John Chan, seeking to persuade the victim that the money has been sent
• Once the victim gives up hope, Anthony disappears and moves on to his next victim, by then having extracted whatever financial and reputational advantage he can from the fake investor/investee relationship he has managed to establish with the victim
• A final characteristic of Anthony’s frauds is that he will often seek to present his "investment team" as comprising eminent people so as to give himself credibility, generally using their names and bios in presentations without their knowledge or consent.