What’s the world coming to when a once respected sorority president, former East St. Louis personnel director, trusted insurance broker and volunteer business director for her sorority’s nonprofit turns to scamming her family, friends and sorors out of $1 million plus over a period of six years?
What I’m describing is the investment scheme that resulted in 61-year-old Germaine Pang receiving a 54-month federal sentence (on November 10) after pleading guilty to mail fraud. And, clearly, greed was the motivating factor.
Pang, according to court records, defrauded investors (from 2003 to 2009) by introducing them to “the Krupp Fund,” a bogus investment opportunity which Pang knew was non-existent.
To cover her tracks, Pang even registered the fund under the name “Krupp dba Germaine M. Pang,” with the Secretary of State, as well as opened a bank account (in the same name) to create the appearance of legitimacy.
However, in reality, Pang deposited checks meant for “the Krupp Fund” into her own personal bank accounts, including $113,783 from Delta Economic Development Corp. of East St. Louis, which operates a child daycare center.
She even went so far as to produce fake annual reports to create the illusion that her client’s investments were growing and paying good returns.
Pang was former president of the ESL chapter of Delta Sigma Theta.
According to the head of the St. Louis FBI, Roland J. Covington, people tend to invest their money with those whom they trust. Germaine Pang’s scam ripped off her trusting black colleagues, sorors, close friends and blood relatives, many of whom were retirees. And in ripping off her sorority, several of them (voluntarily) stepped in to cover the losses due to Pang’s fraudulent actions.
Otherwise, a much-needed children’s daycare facility might have been forced to close.
As a part of her plea agreement, Pang is required to make restitution of the $113,783 to Delta Economic Development Corp. and she must serve 85 percent (4 years) of her sentence.
How do individuals like Pang sleep at night knowing that they have disenfranchised poor, hard-working black folks?
The lesson for Pang’s victims is that they should never be so trusting with their hard-earned dollars. Given the roll call of political (and white collar) thugs who have exploited the city of ESL, not even one’s family or sorors can be completely trusted in East Boogie – or elsewhere, for that matter.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com.