'Chinese Warren Buffett' found guilty of fraud

TORONTO -- Weizhen Tang's battle against the Ontario Securities Commission and the justice system came to a halt Tuesday when a jury convicted him of fraud.

The Toronto businessman, who bills himself as the "Chinese Warren Buffett," had been railing against regulators and prosecutors since 2009, when the OSC shut his investment fund after complaints by investors. The commission alleged Mr. Tang had misappropriated more than $20-million; a criminal charge of fraud followed shortly afterward.

Mr. Tang went on the offensive, taking to the Internet, e-mail and Twitter to criticize and mock the OSC. When his trial in the Ontario Court of Justice began in September, he represented himself and continued the barrage against regulators, offering comments and thoughts through a blog and e-mail during the 50-day trial.

He testified as well, telling jurors about coming to Canada in 1988 to study biology at Ontario's University of Waterloo. He told them about his early fascination with investing and how he earned a 40-per-cent return in his first year trading mutual funds.

By the early 1990s, Mr. Tang had become something of a sensation in the Chinese community across Canada, attracting hundreds of clients to his Chinese Overseas Investment fund. .

In his closing argument this week, Mr. Tang kept up his assault, telling jurors that the OSC was out to get him because of his popularity and that he had done nothing wrong by using money from new investors to cover losses of other investors, as the OSC alleged.

At times he compared himself with investor George Soros and even Martin Luther. He acknowledged in court that he updated his blog almost daily, offering commentary on his trial to roughly 2,000 subscribers.

The jury deliberated only four hours Tuesday before rendering its guilty verdict. Few observers were surprised. Witness after witness had testified about how they had been misled by Mr. Tang, and he gave rambling answers to questions from Crown prosecutors, saying at one point that account statements sent to investors were not falsified but were actually promises of what he intended to accomplish.

Mr. Tang remained defiant to the end. Shortly after being found guilty, he told Mr. Justice Justice Alfred O'Marra that he had been treated unfairly. "I think something is very wrong," he said.

Mr. Tang, 54, will be sentenced later this month and faces a maximum of 14 years in prison.