Singaporean entrepreneur Ong Kai Ming has admitted in court to defrauding eight investors. The charges relate to the use of a non-existent trading system based on artificial intelligence, writes vc.ru.

From 2019 to 2021, Ong ran stock trading training courses through his company, Singapore Index Trading Institute (SITI). Through these courses, he found potential clients and offered them investment services.

The entrepreneur claimed that SITI had developed an AI-based program capable of automatically trading on behalf of investors. Clients were guaranteed a return of at least 3% per month, and in some cases up to 10%.

Investors were told that trading would be done through an "independent" broker, C7TVL, on the C7 Traders platform. However, C7TVL, a company registered in Vanuatu, was also owned by Ong.

The investigation established that no artificial intelligence system existed and no financial transactions were carried out. According to the court, "not a single cent of investor funds was ever transferred to C7TVL."

Ong used the proceeds for personal use and the company's operating expenses. Of the total damages, about 220 thousand USD was paid to investors upon their withdrawal requests.

Ong was arrested in the winter of 2025. On August 26, he pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding seven individuals and one company totaling 3,2 million USD. The court still has 16 similar cases to consider. The court estimates that the total amount of damage from SITI's activities exceeds 4,5 million USD.

In addition to the main fraud charges, Ong is also charged with obstruction of justice for asking an employee to delete emails and internal documents from SITI and C7.

The SITI owner faces up to ten years in prison for each count of fraud and seven years in prison for the obstruction of justice charge.