Ponzi scheme exposed at Rolex retailer in Singapore

A former employee of Singapore’s luxury watch retailer Cortina Watch has pleaded guilty to swindling 14 victims out of nearly $500,000.

Soh Jian Kun exploited his position to sell the illusion of inside access to rare Rolex and Patek Philippe models through a fake staff-purchase scheme at the authorised Rolex and Patek Philippe dealer, according to a Straits Times report. 

To maintain the ruse, Soh used forged company forms and receipts, fabricated chat logs with fake colleagues, and high-pressure deposit requests.

But no watches were ever ordered. Soh used the funds to pay off personal debts in what prosecutors described as a collapsing Ponzi scheme. 

Kun now faces a potential sentence of over five years in prison.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Quek Lu Yi said: “He knew that these victims trusted him by virtue of their relationship with him, and as he was a long-time employee of Cortina Watch.”

“He intended to operate a Ponzi scheme. He knew that he would have to eventually refund his victims, as there would be no watches to deliver to them.

“He intended to do so by using the amounts he had cheated from subsequent victims to pay the initial victims. However, his scheme failed miserably, as all the sums he cheated went towards paying his credit card debts and licensed moneylenders.”

“His actions caused harm not only to his victims, but also to Cortina Watch, which he used as a scapegoat for delays in delivery of the watches or refunds.”