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Big news out of the largest lead generation scandal in history.
For back story on the case between LG Technologies and Edward Shin, Chris Smith and others please read the following articles, starting with this one.
It was released recently that Edward Shin, the main defendant of the charges made by LG Technologies switches his pleas to GUILTY. According to the minutes made available through Riverside Court house Shin has switched is plea, waives his right to a jury trial, waives his right to cross examine the witnesses and waives his right against self incrementation.
Here is an excerpt from the minutes:
Case SWF029673 Defendant 1418661 SHIN, EDWARD YOUNGHOON
Defendant 1 of 1
Action:
Case SWF029673 Defendant 1418661 SHIN, EDWARD YOUNGHOON
Action: Preliminary Hearing Date: 05/26/2010 Time: 8:30 AM
Division: S201 Hearing Status: DISPOSED
HONORABLE KELLY L HANSEN PRESIDING.
COURTROOM ASSISTANT: SLH-S. HOLDER
COURT REPORTER: TF-T. FRAZIER
PEOPLE REPRESENTED BY DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: TOREY NASIF.
DEFENDANT REPRESENTED BY PVT STEVE HARMON.
DEFENDANT PRESENT.
AT 10:17, THE FOLLOWING PROCEEDINGS WERE HELD:
DEFENDANT’S COUNSEL WAIVES FORMAL ARRAIGNMENT.
DEFENDANT WITHDRAWS PLEA OF NOT GUILTY AS TO COUNT(S) 01 AND IS REARRAIGNED.
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO COUNT(S) 01.
DEFENDANT ADMITS ENHANCEMENT(S) D8 IN COUNT 01.
FELONY PLEA FORM IS INCORPORATED HEREIN AND INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ADVISEMENTS
AND WAIVERS:
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO A SPEEDY AND PUBLIC TRIAL BY JUDGE OR JURY.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO CONFRONT AND CROSS EXAMINE WITNESSES; RIGHT TO
PRESENT EVIDENCE ON OWN BEHALF.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO ASK COURT TO COMPEL WITNESSES TO ATTEND TRIAL AT NO
EXPENSE.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF INCRIMINATION.
http://public-access.riverside.courts.ca.gov/Ope…actioncode=PH&actiondate=20100526&actiontime=8.3 (1 of 2) [5/27/2010 11:03:28 AM]
SWF029673 – Minutes – Riverside Criminal & Traffic
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL; CONT. TO CONSULT COUNSEL; ASSIGNMENT OF
COUNSEL IF UNABLE TO EMPLOY PRIVATE COUNSEL.
DEFENDANT WAIVES RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL.
DEFENDANT WAIVES RIGHT TO CONFRONT AND CROSS EXAMINE WITNESSES.
DEFENDANT WAIVES RIGHT TO ASK COURT TO COMPEL WITNESSES TO ATTEND TRIAL AT NO
EXPENSE.
DEFENDANT WAIVES PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF CHARGES AND CONSEQUENCES OF HIS/HER PLEA AND STATUTORY
SENTENCING.
DEFENDANT ADVISED OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.
DEFENSE COUNSEL CONCURS IN DEFENDANTS PLEA AND/OR ADMISSIONS.
COURT FINDS PLEA IS FREE AND VOLUNTARY. COURT FINDS DEFT. KNOWS AND UNDERSTANDS
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, NATURE OF CHARGES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PLEA.
COURT FINDS FACTUAL BASIS FOR THE PLEA IS BASED ON COM-COMPLAINT.
COURT ACCEPTS PLEA.
CASE CERTIFIED TO SUPERIOR COURT
COMMENCE CERTIFICATION
DEFENDANT WAIVES PROBATION REFERRAL.
SENTENCING IS SET FOR 12/09/2010 AT 8:30 IN DEPT. S201.
DEFENDANT WAIVES TIME FOR SENTENCING TO 12/9/10.
SPECIFICATION OF PLEA: PS 180 – IF RESTITUTION IS NOT PAID IN FULL BY
11/14/10 – LOW TERM 16 MONTHS.
CRUZ WAIVER TAKEN.
ORAL MOTION BY PEOPLE REGARDING DISMISS REMAINING COUNTS IS CALLED FOR HEARING.
MOTION GRANTED
COURT ORDERS ENHANCEMENT(S) NP IN COUNT 01 STRICKEN.
COUNT(S) 02 DISMISSED IN THE INTEREST OF JUSTICE. (1385 PC)
ORAL MOTION BY DEFENSE REGARDING EXONERATE BAIL BOND AND RELEASE O.R. IS CALLED
FOR HEARING.
MOTION GRANTED
CURRENT BAIL BOND EXONERATED.
DEFENDANT ORDERED TO RETURN ON ANY AND ALL FUTURE HEARING DATES.
RELEASED ON O.R.
This admission of Embezzlement now puts the spotlight on on the co-defendants on the case, I would think. As one of the biggest scams put on on lead gen space, one that involved redirecting lead volume, accepting checks on behalf of LG Technologies and possible joint conspiracy with other lead gen insiders. it would appear to be close to an end. We will now need to see how this reversal will affect the other parties involved in the case.
As usual, I will keep you posted.
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34 Comments
Do you know the details of the deal he is getting? I heard the civil case is settling because LG doesn’t have anything other than this to accuse them with. Have you heard anything on that?
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Says above…
SPECIFICATION OF PLEA: PS 180 – IF RESTITUTION IS NOT PAID IN FULL BY
11/14/10 – LOW TERM 16 MONTHS.
Just my interpretation but looks like he has to pay restitution in full by 11/14/10 or at a MINIMUM he’ll get 16 months jail time. Ouch!
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So then if he pays he’s off the hook?
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Hey Michael, did you see this link that Lead Critic previously posted? It has some interesting court documents attached.
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0RPu4r9eV1aZmM0NWJkZDItMThmNi00ODhiLWJiNTEtNzQzOGM0NDg2MjNm&hl=en
There are some emails toward the end of the document which are eye opening. It appears that Marc Diana from Break Water Ventures was corresponding with Ed Shin regarding making an investment. One of the documents shows Diana agreeing to invest $200K with him. There’s a whole lot of other evidence presented as well. It smells pretty fishy. If you ask me, LG seems to have put forward a very persuasive case.
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Not clear whether he would be off the hook should he pay. Just says he has to return to court on 11/14/10 and if he hasn’t paid restitution by then the minimum he’ll get is 16 months. He’ll probably get less than this if he pays is my guess.
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will we get our money back
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What do you think private individual should do, that has been scram by this SCRUM BAG whom he has stolen money from? Its lots of innocent people he has taken money from, that do not have any other resource to hire attorney. Edward Shin is getting off with a small amount of time if any at all. I hope he learns his lesson and stop preying on innocent people and not embezzling companies, which put their trust in him. However, if they continue prior into his pas dealing and probably his present dealing they will find that he will stop at nothing. Shin will come up with the money before November he certainly knows how get money.
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I’m sure he has the money already or he would not have changed the plea. I had also heard that the civil case was going to settle out of court, but that was before the contempt. Things changed after that happened in the fall. The whole thing is very interesting. If anything, it seemed like a open and shut case from the beginning, but the court system just doesn’t work that way I guess.
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I was told that LG is settling b/c Shin & Smith were about to blow the whistle on some things that they did that they didn’t want public. Which is why they had Shin arrested so that he would lose credibility. Regardless this whole thing looks like pure insanity on all party’s ends. Even the CEO of LG lost his job over this case, probably due to the stuff that was about to be exposed.
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Oh WOW! That is something I had not heard. Sounds like there was shady stuff going on all over the place. Has this whole thing hurt business for all the parties involved or have the clients been trucking away as usual? I just wonder how much of this is just hype… Has this given competitors an advantage? How has this whole thing played out in the industry as a whole?
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Edward Shin, always uses treathShin, always uses threats again other as thought he is innocent, I wouldn’t be surprised if they all was scamming. I believe that Edward Shin was the leader of the scheme this guy been doing stuff like this for a very long time, and he is so young. What else will he do to save his butt and reputation what reputation? I wonder just how many people he has scammed and stolen money from. When he was arrested lots of individual, which isn’t CEO were very happy, and they probably not going to get one cent back of their money. WHAT A SHAME!
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Michael, pardon me for saying but your post is a bit strange. I believe Shin was arrested because he embezzled a serious sum of money! Saying that LG, or anyone else, had him arrested as a way to discredit him is a bit naive. If you know anything about criminal prosecution, you’d realize that it’s very difficult to have anyone arrested in this Country without an overwhelming amount of evidence. Besides, didn’t Shin just plead guilty to embezzlement?
If Shin or Smith had credible evidence that LG did anything wrong, don’t you think they would have brought that evidence forth by now? Why would Shin, a convicted felon who’s staring in the face of jail time, hold back any credible evidence? In all of the legal paperwork filed, which is all public, I’ve seen nothing that suggests that LG did anything wrong other than hiring and putting their trust in Edward Shin and Chris Smith. I think it’s in bad taste to vilify the victim here without having hard evidence. I suppose it is the kind of thing that Shin, Smith, or someone close to them would post here though. I commend LG for spending the time and money to hold someone like Shin accountable. Too bad they also have to endure comments like the one you posted above.
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Za-ZING! Zack: Exactly what I thought. There is no way you can get someone arrested for embezzlement unless there is hard evidence. I mean Shin was held in contempt of court for submitting falsified checks. I mean “Hello Michael!? Pick up the clue phone!” If there was any mud to sling in the Shin defense… they would have slung it. Also, isn’t the LA courts suing them as well? Also, wasn’t Shin sued for this type of thing at Hall of Publishing (or some magazine company he worked for). LG took a chance and put a lot of trust in an employee… and they got robbed. As a business owner myself, this type of thing is terrifying.
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Edward Shin was the CEO-founder of Hall of fame publishing Co. The magazine name is Legends Sports Magazine, which he supposedly to have purchase. I and several other friends, family, and co-worker invested in with him. Edward Shin personally sold me and the other the stocks for the magazine, he received our money. Also I invested in real-estate with him along with other investors. We haven’t gotten dividends from the sale of the magazines, it seems he never paid the printer or the publisher absolutely he kept all the proceeds. He issues certificates for our stock investment shares. I feel sorry for everyone that subscribed to the magazine, which paid upfront for a year and some even for three years they will not get any magazines. Is it fraud for Edward Shin to sell investment stocks without registering with the SEC? Is there rules from he have official right to sell stock? In addition, he gave me phonies spread sheets for the real-estate investment I invested in with him.
Therefore, I do hope someone can recovery from all this. This guy have deceived so many other that I have contact with, they are so a shame that they could fall for such a swindler. I apologize for writing so much about the guy but there is so much more.
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Sorry to hear that Mary. Have you approached the police in the jurisdiction where this took place? Now that Shin has been convicted of embezzlement, it would likely improve the chance that authorities would file charges for the additional fraud you’re describing. If this happened in Riverside County, you should additionally consider contacting the District Attorney that most recently prosecuted him. Good luck!
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All I know is that LG was bragging how they were going to shut down Shin’s company and nail him to the wall. Now he gets a reduced sentence and their case settles kind of out of the blue? And then LG’s CEO gets fired? I think Shin had the evidence, but had so much crap against him he took a fall. But his partner Smith was going to go all the way separately which is why I think LG settled. Anyways, all drama. And Mary, that’s too bad. If you were swindled, then you should talk to the police. But selling stock in a private company isn’t illegal. If you were issued certificates and lost money, then nothing can be done. Look at the investors of GM and Chrysler who bought their stocks legally with brokers, me included, we all have lost out on those investments.
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Michael, we’ve seen nothing public that would substantiate anything you’re saying here. We’ve heard nothing about LG’s CEO getting fired nor have we heard anything about Shin receiving a reduced sentence. We’ve seen no evidence in Smith’s filing of any wrong doing on the part of LG. If you bothered to read any of the filings related to this case, I doubt you would be making such uninformed statements.
We understand that Shin pled guilty and any reduction in sentence appears to be tied to his plea of guilt and agreement to make restitution. That agreement would have been between Shin and the District Attorney’s office in Riverside.
Also, where are you getting your information that LG settled anything? I can find nothing public on this bit of information either! And, if LG did agree to settle their Civil case, wouldn’t it make more sense that it’s based on the breakthroughs on the criminal side? I’m talking about the fact that Shin pled guilty and agreed to make restitution! Doesn’t that make the Civil case somewhat mute? To borrow what John said above, “Hello Michael!? Pick up the clue phone!”
Seriously though, with a big win on the criminal side of this case, why would anyone in their right mind continue to pay attorney fees on the Civil side? Since Shin already plead guilt and agreed to make restitution, why shouldn’t LG settle on the Civil side. To say that any settlement suggests LG did something wrong is laughable.
In conclusion, it’s very suspect how you’ve acquired all of this private information, none of which is public. You’d either have to be an insider or possibly even Edward Shin himself to know such details. Either way, your sympathy for Mary is suspect, including your attempt to play down the illegality of what Shin did to her.
Mary, Michael is the last person on this thread I would be listening to or taking advice from. For all you know, you’re talking to Edward Shin himself.
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Zack, it seems like you are someone at LG. And my sources aren’t from Shin, but someone much more credible with the evidence. So regardless, I have heard and seen plenty from both sides of the fence and am making my own conclusions. If you had any clue as to what was really going on there you wouldn’t be so quick to make such judgments, unless you’re the guy that has to defend himself. For all I know you are Gray himself hiding behind this alias. Just like a Leadpoint employee did on earlier comments from previous blogs.
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One other thing: Did you even read the civil complaint? It wasn’t just about the money. LG claims they stole business opportunities, trade secrets and caused harm beyond the actual money that Shin embezzled but also paid back. So you would think that they would the criminal case would have helped them, especially to go after punitive damages, not the other way around. There are closets on their own side, and yes, it’s a fact that Gray was removed as CEO. Go to Revshare’s site (the owner of LG) and look in their management section. Gray is only the founder and chairman now. http://www.revshare.com
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No I did not go to the police. However, I did call the police department to inquire about what we could do. But they just gave me the run around. I talk to someone at the Los Angeles justice department when I realize that he have no plans to do the right thing. While I was on the phone with him did look on the computer magazine Hall of fame publishing and found it. He told me at that time it wasn’t anything that could be done, because maybe it has not made any money yet. But his friends became contacting me that was in business with him and they were very suspicious themselves. I notice none of them he have working with him in these new scams. At another report about him one of Shin partner did leave a very brief comment, I knew it was him.
I did keep a journal of all the emails Edwards Shin had email me and the promises he made to me, my friends, family, and even co-workers. He even emailed them as well. One in particular I had asked me to introduce her to him, because she had sold her home after her divorce, and she needed to invest her money. I don’t know why he needed her husband information I told him that she very vulnerable at that time, she needed help. Shin told her that she shouldn’t tell about their transaction, and she felt that it was personally. Edward stole her husband indemnification and brought homes in her name because she had very good credit.
In addition, the house he was living in Temecula was in her name, he forged her signature on documentations, and began to blaming her as if she had done something. And the house got foreclose on and the home he had invest in Las Vegas, causing the man that trusted him to save his home for him he refinance the house and stole the money from both of them. Then she told me what was going on she did call the district of attorney, even the FBI and hired a lawyer causing him to get fired from Cambridge funding. If only she had told me earlier I wouldn’t invested anymore with him. She feels so embarrassed she didn’t want anyone to know.
Oh yes! I did send my journal of email to the SEC alone with all the information I had on him, but got no response. And Edward Shin likes to intimidate he tried that with me, I felt frighten because I told him off and I am still making comments about him. He knows that it is me and he also know where I live he has been to my home, I really thought he was a nice guy. Therefore I think he will not stop at anything, I truly believe he will do in and everything. Edward, certainly know I will speak and I did tell him if I faint are fall out I hope the FBI investigate him. I do not trust him at all, and there is still more, because I happen to run into some other, which had dealt with this guy, including other that work for him, which he did not pay them for their work. People are coming out of the wood work, but they are afraid of him.
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arrested for murder…
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And now he is a murderer. Wow. I feel so sorry for his wife and kids.
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Wow, Mary. That is one illiterate clusterufck of a post you made there. On one hand, I am not surprised that Ed was able to con you. On the other, I can’t understand how someone that writes like you could have anything to be conned out of. I’m baffled.
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Gee Rick, what a hurtful thing to post. Equally baffling.
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Rick, uneducated actually, I am not geared up to swap insults with you. I wasn’t that easy to be defrauded as you might imagine. My writing perhaps not be as superior as yours. Nonetheless, the money was minds I didn’t get it by lying, stealing, scheming, manipulating, or murder. I survived and is able to make more money. Believe or not I do have the brains and I don’t have to be rude, hurtful, mean, and nasty. It takes moral ethic, that enable me to achieve with the purpose of making money. A young man was murdered because of greed. My inability to write, and mumble jumble, was your main focus. My heartfelt sorry to the grieving family.
Thanks you, Zack, Michael, and John for the your kindly words.
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MissP Reply:
March 22nd, 2012 at 9:00 am
Mary – can you tell me the name of any realtors that Shin used and what their connection to him was? This is very important to me.
Thanks
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Cambridge Funding & Veritas Mortgage these are the only two I think of now. I would have to go back over some of my older e-mails in order to supply you with others. I don’t know all of them. However, it certainly was more than two.
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MissP Reply:
April 2nd, 2012 at 9:25 am
Looking for realtor’s names and/or agencies in South County.
Thanks
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John Igarashi
Owner, Law Offices of John Y. Igarashi, APC
Location
Orange County, California Area Industry
Legal Services Overview
President of Veritas Mortgage corp. Edward Shin used his realtor license and Edward had a temporarily license himself.
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MissP Reply:
July 4th, 2012 at 2:14 pm
thanks Mary,
how about shin’s wife? what’s her story?
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MissP
Shin’s wife Karen, I really don’t know what’s her story. I prefer to think that she wasn’t aware of his deviousness, scheming ways. However, as frequency they had to move from their home as they did. One would imagine she would have gotten a little suspicious about the changes and Shin partners & lawyer of his clients that came to his house with complaints it seems she should have known. Nevertheless, I don’t know what’s up with her. What is your story, were victimize by Shin’s scram? Why is it very important to you?
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MissP Reply:
July 10th, 2012 at 6:35 pm
I cannot really say publicly Mary but I have an opinion that the whole Shin family is pretty dispicable and ruthless. My opinion is that they don’t care how they hurt other people financially if it suits their purposes. She’s quite an actress in my opinion. Oscar nomination.
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I know Ed and Karen both, hung out with them a lot back in the days in Irvine – Karen is in all honesty a gold lying digging wh..e
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MW
If she’s involved perhaps his father was as well after all I was introduce to Ed by his father. Somehow the life they started living at other people expense she most probably had to know. He seemed to be a nice guy, so did Ed. After I became suspicious of Ed and he was exposed. I confronted him and he started getting belligerent with me and some with some other associated and started yelling at them and me. Some gotten very afraid of him but they wanted their money back. However, I e-mail him and told him that I felt he was capable of during anything at that point. You probably right all of his family had to be apart of this scams.
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