Liun

FACTS

In November 2008, Lin’s friend Grace Hu said she had been investing with partners to purchase property at foreclosure auctions. She recommended Lin invest with them, too. Hu offered to act as an intermediary between her partners and Lin. At Lin’s office, Hu said if Lin invested $150,000 with these partners to purchase property at foreclosure, the partners would maintain the property, pay the taxes, and perform all the necessary legal work to evict existing tenants or owners. Once the property was sold, after deducting any maintenance costs or taxes advanced on Lin’s behalf, the remaining profit would be split by the partners. Hu said she had entered into similar arrangements with the same investors and profited from sales. On November 18, 2008, Hu called Lin and said to purchase a cashier’s check for an upcoming foreclosure auction to buy property with the partners. She instructed Lin to make the cashier’s check payable to Lin or Hu’s employee David Chung in the amount of $150,000. Lin purchased a cashier’s check in her own name in the amount of $150,000, and provided it to Hu. A foreclosure auction was held on November 26, 2008. Gene Kucherov is a managing agent and…