Self-proclaimed “Chinese Warren Buffett”, Weizhen Tang was sentenced to six years in prison with a $2.8 million fine in February for raising a whopping $50 million from clueless investors fraudulently. This Toronto-based “Financial-Businessman” and Mayoral Candidate was caught with an overflow of evidence showing falsified account statements and proof of him using investments from newer clients to make payments to earlier investors. Weizhen Tang “invested” his clients’ money into risky trades in foreign currencies when they were promised security and stability through investment in government bonds. These investors were primarily middle-class Chinese-Canadians living in Toronto and had made large commitments into Tang’s Oversea Chinese Fund, as many had poured out their life savings, borrowed money, and mortgaged their homes in order to finance the investment.
In Class 9, one of the major focuses of the class was Financial Statement Fraud in Financial Accounting. The importance of being literate with financial statements was highlighted during the class as similar cases are bound to happen to everyone in the future. This article only reinforces the fact that one must be able to analyse and interpret financial statements to at least a basic level in order to succeed in the business world regardless how accomplished they are in other areas.
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