SEC Charges California Resident with Multimillion Dollar Ponzi Scheme Targeting Tongan American Community

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Richmond, California resident Tilila Walker Sumchai with raising approximately $11.8 million from more than 1,000 investors through a fraudulent securities offering targeting members of the Tongan American community across the United States. According to the SEC’s complaint, from approximately January 2021 through October 2021, Sumchai convinced retail investors to acquire shares of an investment she created called “Tongi Tupe” by falsely claiming that she would use a secret algorithm to generate guaranteed high returns. The complaint alleges that Sumchai first targeted respected Tongan American leaders, who were paid substantial returns on their investments, which convinced many of the leaders to believe that Tongi Tupe was legitimate.