YELLOWKNIFE — A Yellowknife businessman has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Liang Chen, 45, entered his guilty plea on April 22 during a court appearance. He is accused of defrauding both the BDC and Chinese businessman Shengteng Wang of amounts exceeding $5,000. Chen did not enter a plea for the fraud charge related to Wang.
According to court records, the RCMP alleges that Chen assisted Wang in setting up a business in Yellowknife. Chen then applied for and received a $250,000 loan from BDC against the business, Northern Sky Films, without informing Wang. The fraud charges against Chen were filed in October, shortly after the business ceased operations.
In a separate civil lawsuit, Wang won a judgment of $156,961 against Chen, although Wang has not yet collected the amount. Chen also faced lawsuits from another Chinese client, who successfully sued him for $213,583, and from TD Bank and contractors, who collectively won judgments of over $100,000.
Chen is scheduled for sentencing on July 25 for his role in the fraud.
