Financier arrested; companies’ assets frozen

FBI agents arrested a Newport Beach financier Tuesday on federal charges he structured cash payments to keep them under the $10,000 limit that triggers a report to be filed with the federal government.

Danny Pang, 42, founder and former chief executive of the Irvine-based firms Private Equity Management Group Inc., and Private Equity Management Group LLC, lives in the Dover Shores area of Newport Beach.

The arrest comes one day after the Securities and Exchanged Commission obtained an emergency court order freezing the assets of Pang and his companies, alleging they bilked investors out of millions by misrepresenting investments in seniors’ life insurance polices and time share real estate.

The criminal complaint accuses Pang of using his employees to cash checks for amounts less than $10,000 to avoid the filing of currency transaction reports, which financial institutions are required to file for all currency transactions that are more than $10,000.

An affidavit contained in the complaint details 38 checks — all between $9,500 and $9,900 — that were cashed at an El Monte branch of East West Bank. In some cases, two checks were cashed the same day. Pang personally cashed four of the checks, while most of the checks were cashed by his personal assistant, federal law officials claim.

Pang is expected to make his first appearance in court today. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

— Brianna Bailey