A Point Loma woman who prosecutors say raided her employers’ accounts to buy a Porsche and a $2.9 million bay-view home has been sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after admitting she stole over $8.5 million. Ping “Jenny” Gao, 55, was ordered to pay restitution and will begin serving a 63-month term following the federal sentence. The sprawling case has drawn attention for its tangle of civil litigation, alleged perjury and international wire transfers that prosecutors say played out over several years.
How Federal Prosecutors Say The Fraud Worked
U.S. District Judge James E. Simmons Jr. handed down the 63-month prison sentence and ordered $3,295,000 in restitution to Nautical Hero Group, LLC and Vitality International Management, LLC, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Prosecutors say Gao admitted she siphoned company money into accounts she set up with false information, then diverted more than $8.5 million for herself. The businesses at the center of the case — Nautical Hero Group, Axiom United Holdings and Vitality International Management — were based at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, according to the office.
Where The Money Went
Local reporting indicates Gao did not hold back on big-ticket buys, picking up a $160,000 Porsche and a $2.9 million home featuring sweeping views of the bay, according to NBC 7 San Diego. NBC reports investigators were able to claw back roughly $5.21 million of the overall loss, which leaves more than $3 million spent or still missing. According to that reporting, agents followed the money trail through hundreds of transactions and transfers that they say were tied to the scheme.
Court Fight And Alleged Cover-Up
Prosecutors say that when Gao’s employer took her to court in San Diego Superior Court, she tried to pin the transfers on an overseas owner and paid more than $100,000 to people in China to manufacture fake evidence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The release says Gao ignored multiple court orders, wired $1.6 million to a bank in Hong Kong, sold the Porsche to CarMax for about $75,000 and turned a $70,000 cashier’s check into cash. Prosecutors also allege she moved more than $1 million into personal accounts and ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars at high-end retailers.
Sentence, Prosecution And What Comes Next
Federal prosecutors brought the criminal case in the Southern District of California and the FBI’s San Diego field office led the investigation, while local outlets covered Gao’s guilty plea and Friday’s sentencing, including Fox 5 San Diego. The case, filed as 23-CR-2380-JES, was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick C. Swan. Gao will be required to repay the ordered restitution to her former employers, and a substantial share of the stolen money is still unaccounted for as authorities continue efforts to recover whatever they can.
