A married couple, Felicia Tay Bee Ling and Eric Ong Chee Wei has admitted to defrauding an individual, Mr. David Tan, of a substantial sum totaling $220,000. This significant amount was obtained through a deceptive scheme involving purported property investments. The court heard details of how Tay, who was involved in an intimate relationship with Mr. Tan, conspired directly with her husband, Ong, to carry out the elaborate fraud. They concocted a false narrative, claiming that Ong, who previously worked as a property agent, had access to highly discounted condominium units available for investment.
Tay then informed Mr. Tan that she could facilitate his purchase of seven specific units at a development known as Residences @ Emerald Hill at these reduced rates. She further assured him of high returns within a short period, specifically three months. However, in reality, six of these seven alleged units did not exist at all, and the seventh unit was not even available for sale on the market. To make the scheme appear legitimate, Ong provided Tay with falsified “option-to-purchase” (OTP) forms. Tay then meticulously filled out these fraudulent documents before sending them to Mr. Tan, further solidifying the deception.
Between September and November of 2015, Mr. Tan proceeded to hand over a total of $220,000 to Tay. He believed these payments were “security deposits” for the property investments and was under the impression that he would receive profits exceeding $1.7 million from these transactions. This significant sum was entrusted to the couple based on their deceptive representations.
Mr. Tan’s suspicions began to emerge in January 2016 when he did not receive any of the promised returns. To alleviate his growing doubts, Tay and Ong created a fabricated “IOU document” in an attempt to pacify him and buy more time. The relationship between Mr. Tan and Tay concluded in March 2017. It was only much later, in December 2019, that Mr. Tan directly contacted OrangeTee, the real estate company whose name appeared on the fraudulent OTP forms. It was at this point that he discovered the entire scheme was illegitimate and that no such transactions existed.
Following this discovery, Mr. Tan filed a police report, which initiated an investigation. This ultimately led to the arrest of both Felicia Tay and Eric Ong in June 2022. On June 24, both Tay and Ong formally pleaded guilty to the cheating charges brought against them. In a move towards restitution, Ong has already made a payment of $10,000. The couple is now awaiting their sentencing, which is scheduled to take place in July.
