Former Bellevue Wealth Manager Enters Guilty Plea, Facing 6 Years In Prison

BELLEVUE, WA - Former Bellevue wealth manager Chris Young Yoo pleaded guilty on Monday to multiple charges related to an alleged Ponzi scheme.

Yoo, 44, pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements, according to the Associated Press. U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes told the AP that Yoo took money from clients and used it to pay for his own expenses, costing them approximately $3.7 million.

Yoo was CEO of Summit Asset Strategies, a Bellevue wealth management firm, between 2006 and 2015. Previously, Yoo settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission for approximately $1 million, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. In September 2015, the SEC charged Summit and Yoo for "fraudulently inflating the values of investment in the portfolio of a private fund they advised so that they could obtain unearned management fees," according to the state Department of Financial Institutions.

Yoo will be sentenced in June, according to the AP report, and could face up to 6-1/2 years in prison.

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