Sun on the run, ex-lovers settle as Istuary office auctioned off

By ThinkPol Staff

The CEO of the Vancouver tech startup alleged to be a Ponzi scheme is on the run in China, according to court documents filed by an investor who is suing the company.

Vancouver Lawyer Joe Carangi, who invested $138,000 in Istuary Investment Fund, is alleging that CEO Yi An “Ethan” Sun and his wife Yulan “Amy” Hu spent investor money to buy homes for themselves in the lower mainland, fund their personal lifestyle, and to acquire companies and shares in China.

Carangi originally filed the case at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver days before the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration designated Istuary Idea Labs Inc, part of the Istuary Group, as a designated incubator for the startup visa program on August 19, 2017^[1]http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2017/2017-08-19/html/notice-avis-eng.php.

In a notice of application dated September 29, Carangi claims that he was having trouble serving legal documents to Sun and Hu as they were moving from city to city in China without informing him of their whereabouts.

The notice of application also removes Carangi’s former girlfriend Chi Yuen Lau, also known as Julia Lau, from being a party to the lawsuit.

Carangi had earlier alleged that he was introduced to Sun and Hu by Lau, the Vancouver realtor behind the infamous 68-million-dollar Nelson Street property flip uncovered by South China Morning Post^[2]http://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1937267/stampede-inside-story-vancouvers-wildest-property-deal-gone-7200.

Carangi also claims in the application that Sun and Hu “intend to continue to reside in British Columbia, bot could not provide details as to when they would return.”

Corporate filings show that Istuary Group companies have received more than $10 million dollars from investors in the US and Canada^[3]http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/ViewDocument.aspx?DocNum=V7B4O6XBL7R5N7NAM6J5K7H9B7X3^[4]https://bcsc.bc.ca/About_Issuers/Issuer_Information/?partyid=R7SBF6TBC7GAY7UBF6F4G7S0

Istuary and its CEO have denied all allegations in a Statement of Defence filed on October 13, and are seeking special costs from Carangi on the grounds that allegations of fraud against them are “intended to liable[sic] and embarrass” them and “to injure their reputation and their ability to carry on business and have had those effects.”

Meanwhile, all equipment and furniture from Istuary’s Vancouver office will be auctioned off on December 14^[5]https://www.ableauctions.ca/auction?aAuctionId=7d74b728-15ea-488d-9bcf-c84192ecad94.

Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has suspended Istuary as a designated incubator for the startup visa program^[6]http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/business/start-up/eligibility/entities.asp.

BC’s Employment Standards Branch last month ordered Istuary to pay $2.9 million in unpaid wages to 120 employees who have not been paid since May.