Chen Yuxuan's case of defrauding Tzu Chi of 1.06 billion in commissions is preparing for court proceedings. Assistant surnamed Wu pleads guilty to tax evasion but claims he had no knowledge

Lawyer Chen Yuxuan, who was the chairman of the Changhua Lawyers Association, and vaccine broker Li Yiru, took advantage of the Tzu Chi Foundation's eagerness to purchase 5 million doses of BNT vaccine during the 2021 COVID-19 epidemic. They pretended to have procurement channels and defrauded commissions of up to US$30 million (approximately NT$1.06 billion). They were also suspected of money laundering and converting the stolen money into retail purchases. After buying gold and hiding it in a mansion in Taichung, Chen and 17 other people were charged last month with charges of fraud, business embezzlement and other crimes. The Taichung District Court held a preparatory court today. Chen Yuxuan's assistant surnamed Wu pleaded guilty to tax evasion and other crimes, but he claimed not to know that Chen defrauded Tzu Chi to obtain a commission of 1.06 billion, exclaiming, "I only found out after watching the news."

The CCDI alleged that Chen Yuxuan and his accomplice Li Yiru took advantage of the epidemic and Tzu Chi Foundation urgently needed to purchase 5 million doses of BNT vaccine and falsely claimed that there were channels to purchase the vaccine. Tzu Chi mistakenly believed that it entrusted Yuda Company, owned by Chen's daughter, to purchase the vaccine and paid an appointment fee of US$30 million, equivalent to approximately NT$1.06 billion.

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In order to hide this huge amount of money, Chen Nv, together with Li Shizong and others known as "Dad", transferred the cash flow step by step, withdrew 520 million yuan in cash, and handed it over to Li Shizong and others for safekeeping and expenditure. Nine companies issued unified invoices with false content, evading taxes amounting to 53.74 million, and also used part of the money to purchase up to 232 kilograms of gold.

The CCDI launched two waves of searches in April and May this year. From the mansion where Chen and Li lived, they seized a total of about 93.08 million yuan in cash, about 158.8 kilograms of gold (with a market value of about 680 million), and two high-priced vehicles such as a Range Rover and a Mercedes. The total value of seized criminal proceeds reached more than 1.0815 billion yuan.

The Taichung District Court held a preparatory court today. Chen Yuxuan's assistant surnamed Wu appeared in court and stated that he was not an employee of Yuda. Because he and Chen Yuxuan were classmates, Chen asked her to help. In addition, her father was familiar with Li Shizong and his wife, so he helped deal with their groceries. He admitted that he helped to collect the money and took the money to the Sky Tree warehouse. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and general money laundering.

But he emphasized that he did not know where the money came from, let alone that Chen Yuxuan helped Tzu Chi Foundation to buy vaccines and fraudulently obtained 1.06 billion in commissions. He said in court, "I only found out after watching the news."

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