IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA GAINESVILLE DIVISION

Transcription

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA GAINESVILLE DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) ) v. ) CRIMINAL ACTION NO.: ) EMILY FU ) 2:18-CR-0023-RWS-JCF ) DEFENDANT S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM COMES NOW, Emily Fu, by and through undersigned counsel, and hereby files this Sentencing Memorandum to assist the Court in fashioning a reasonable sentence in this matter. Defendant will briefly review her background, the crimes, and what has happened since the crimes were discovered. Ms. Fu will then go over sentencing options. DEFENDANT S BACKGROUND As shown in the Presentence Investigation Report ( PSR ), Emily Fu is now 58 years old. Her life story is both common, yet somewhat unusual. As developed in the PSR, Ms. Fu s father is Chinese. Her father was around 10 when an uncle took Ms. Fu s father to Indonesia. With little education, Ms. Fu s father prospered in Indonesia as a merchant and businessman. As a teenager, Ms. Fu s passion was playing classical piano. She dreamed of coming to study and then perform in the United States. She got part of her dream, for while still a teenager

2 her family allowed her to move to Atlanta, where an older sibling had relocated. The PSR also shows that Ms. Fu enrolled in a local college, where she met her husband, Daniel Fu. They are now in their 39 th year of marriage and have two sons. All three men, her husband and two sons, will attend the sentencing hearing. The PSR also shows that Ms. Fu has lived an exemplary life, until the crimes in this case. She came to the United States and created a new life for herself. She got married and had a family. She became a United States citizen. She got involved in many real estate ventures and organizations. She has lived the modest life of a working woman devoted to her family. Her sons graduated and moved out of the home. Then, everything crashed to the ground when she abandoned her values and tried to protect her reputation. THE CRIMES Defendant pled guilty to mail fraud. In essence, Ms. Fu defrauded a series of Chinese-based investors who wanted to make money in the Atlanta commercial real estate market. As shown in the PSR, Ms. Fu helped investors get connected with various shopping centers and business properties. However, as also shown in the PSR, she siphoned off investor funds in several ways: by taking out secret loans on properties that the investors had purchased with cash, by telling investors that the purchase 2

3 prices were higher than the actual price, and by using investor funds for unauthorized purposes. Pursuant to her plea agreement, Ms. Fu agreed to a financial deposition. During that deposition, Ms. Fu explained how an otherwise honorable businesswoman go to the point where she defrauded her investors. She got involved in a bad business deal in mainland China. She felt honor-bound to follow through on her promises in that transaction and borrowed money from a wealthy acquaintance named Nina Xu. To pay back Ms. Xu, Defendant committed the crimes to which she pled guilty and for which she will be sentenced. In her deposition, Ms. Fu explained that the transfers of funds out of the various accounts can be traced to Nina Xu. Ms. Fu does not have the investor s money. AFTER THE CRIMES Th PSR also shows how the scheme unraveled in the Fall of 2017 when investors and staff noted a request for a loan repayment on a property that investors had obtained with cash. Some investors confronted Ms. Fu, who partially confessed to what she had done. Ms. Fu promised to help the investors understand what she had done, but she then panicked. Instead of meeting with the investors as she had promised, she flew to Central America. During her recent deposition, Ms. Fu explained that she contemplated suicide while in Central America but decided to return and face the charges. 3

4 Almost immediately after Ms. Fu returned to the United States, she authorized undersigned counsel to contact the Government. In between Christmas 2017 and New Year s 2018, Ms. Fu surrendered her passport to counsel, who immediately offered to turn it over to the United States. Eventually, the parties agreed to resolve the matter with the mail fraud charge outlined in the PSR. Both sides will recommend that the Court consider an additional one-level downward variance. This joint recommendation is because Ms. Fu s actions since she decided to live and not commit suicide, and since she decided to return and face the music, all saved significant resources for the Government in what would have otherwise been a highly complex investigation and prosecution. The PSR also details what Ms. Fu has done in the past year since returning from Central America. She took a job driving for two ride-sharing services, Uber and Lyft. She works many hours to try to pay expenses. She discovered that an earlier real estate venture had a retirement account in her name and has offered this relatively small amount of money (approximately $40,000) as a payment toward her huge restitution obligation. As noted above, Ms. Fu also agreed to a financial deposition. She explained, under oath, what happened to the 4

5 money and that she does not have any of it nor has she secreted the funds in other locations. Ms. Fu also will speak directly to any victim who decides to attend her sentencing hearing. She is a woman born and raised in a culture that greatly respects honor. She is now a broken woman, but even in her reduced state, she intends to directly address her victims to express her sorrow and remorse. SENTENCING OPTIONS The PSR recommends a Guideline range of months. If the Court grants the joint request for a one-level downward variance, the range would be months in custody. Emily Fu lived a good and decent life until she committed the crimes for which she will be sentenced. She is now a broken human being, because her sense of honor and obligation led her to use the victim s money to repay her own debt. All financial crimes are serious, and the amounts involved here are larger than some cases. However, there does not seem to be evidence that the crimes were designed to personally enrich Ms. Fu or her family. The victims have every right to seek justice, but this case is a bit different than cases where the Defendant used victim money to fund a high-end lifestyle. Defendant asks that the Court consider all these factors when determining a reasonable sentence for Emily Fu. (signature on following page) 5

6 DATED: This 3 rd day of December, /s/ Paul S. Kish PAUL S. KISH Georgia State Bar No ATTORNEY FOR EMILY FU Kish Law LLC 225 Peachtree Street, N.E South Tower Atlanta, GA ; Fax paul@kishlawllc.com 6

7 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE This is to certify that I have this day served a copy of the foregoing filing into this District s ECF System, which will automatically forward a copy to counsel of record in this matter. DATED: This 3 rd day of December, /s/ Paul S. Kish PAUL S. KISH Georgia State Bar No ATTORNEY FOR EMILY FU Kish Law LLC 225 Peachtree Street, N.E South Tower Atlanta, GA ; Fax paul@kishlawllc.com 7