SEC Charges Tilila Walker Sumchai with Affinity Fraud Targeting Tongan American Community

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Tilila Walker Sumchai, a resident of Richmond, California, with fraudulently raising $11.8 million from more than 1,000 investors through her Tongi Tupe investment product. Sumchai targeted the Tongan American community with false promises of high returns on investments using a secret algorithm, and she enlisted respected members of the community to promote her venture at meetings. In reality, however, Sumchai was running a Ponzi scheme that did not generate any returns and instead used new investor money to pay earlier investors. The SEC filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California charging Sumchai with violating the antifraud laws and is seeking an injunction, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, a civil penalty, and an officer and director bar against her.