30 Facts About Norman Hsu

Norman Yung Yuen Hsu was born on October 1951 and is a convicted pyramid investment promoter who associated himself with the apparel industry.

The US Justice Department investigated whether Hsu illegally reimbursed political donations by associates and formally charged him with fraud.

Norman Hsu was born and raised in Hong Kong, though his family was originally from Shanghai.

Norman Hsu married in 1974 and received a California real estate license in 1976.

Norman Hsu then created other sportswear companies, including Wear This, Base, and Foreign Exchange.

Norman Hsu engaged in other businesses as well, including clothing stores and restaurants.

Norman Hsu was able to gain the trust of investors by his dress, by his warm and personable manner, by his educational credentials, by being quoted in trade magazines, and by the long list of business under his name, but had a record of changing addresses and leaving disappointed investors behind.

In 1990, Norman Hsu, then living in Foster City, California, declared a bankruptcy, stating that he was practically destitute, with no job, no income, and few possessions other than an SUV and a ring.

Specifically, authorities claimed Norman Hsu had not engaged in any legitimate business activity, but instead was using funds from later investors to pay returns to earlier ones.

In February 1992 Norman Hsu pleaded no contest to one count of grand theft and agreed to serve up to three years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine.

Norman Hsu subsequently failed to appear at the sentencing hearing and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Norman Hsu fled to Hong Kong and lived there from 1992 to 1996 while working in the garment industry.

Norman Hsu started at least two companies there, both with vague charters.

Norman Hsu then returned to the United States in the late 1990s, despite his fugitive status, and established several addresses in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas.

Norman Hsu became an investor in Silicon Valley, invested in real estate in the San Francisco Bay Area, and still had engagements in the garment industry.

Norman Hsu later relocated to New York, where he seemed to become involved in the apparel business and lived in a luxury apartment in SoHo while flying chartered jets.

Norman Hsu donated to causes such as the Innocence Project and Clinton Global Initiative.

Norman Hsu became a trustee of The New School in New York, to whom he donated $100,000 and provided the money for a scholarship.

On 31 August 2007, Norman Hsu surrendered to authorities at the district court house in Redwood City, California.

Norman Hsu was jailed briefly that day until his attorney returned with the increased bail.

The prosecutor reported Norman Hsu to have a checkbook listing a balance of $6 million at the time of his capture in Grand Junction.

On 4 January 2008, Norman Hsu was sentenced to jail for 3 years by California Superior Court Judge Stephen Hall for the original fraud conviction, now 16 years old.

However, detailed financial records for Components Ltd, a Norman Hsu-controlled entity with no obvious business purpose, reveal payments of $100,000 to nine political donors whose contributions were later bundled by Norman Hsu.

On 7 May 2009, Norman Hsu pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to ten counts of mail and wire fraud in connection with the Ponzi scheme.

Norman Hsu stated that "I knew what I was doing was illegal" and faced up to 20 years in prison on each count.

Norman Hsu was still contesting the charges of campaign finance fraud, however.

Norman Hsu was sentenced to 24 years in prison and is currently incarcerated in Federal Medical Center in Lexington, KY.

Norman Hsu's scheduled date of release is 12 August 2030.

On 21 September 2007 a group of Southern California investors sued Norman Hsu, claiming that he defrauded them, and that he pressured them into making contributions to the campaigns of elected officials.

The general pattern of reaction has been typified by Bob Kerrey, president of the New School and former Senator from Nebraska, who originally stated that Norman Hsu had been "a terrific member" of the New School board.