OLYMPIA, Wash. — A Federal Way woman pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud and bank fraud in a scheme that prosecutors and state regulators say stole more than $3 million from investors, according to the Washington Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).
Jenni Yoon Jeong Lee pleaded guilty July 2 to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Federal officials say Lee used money from sales of unregistered securities to fund personal expenses, casino gambling and Ponzi-style payouts instead of investments.
According to the Washington DFI, Lee and her company, Puget Sound Financial LLC, targeted at least 28 investors, primarily elderly Korean American residents in Washington’s south Puget Sound region. The agency said Lee posed as a legitimate investment adviser while using clients’ retirement money to buy high-risk, unsecured promissory notes tied to her own shell companies…