Specializing in slaughtering the rich! Sun was cut by 3.5 billion, and the giant's assets worth hundreds of billions returned to zero overnight...

Super rich people are becoming lambs to be slaughtered. The money lost ranges from tens of billions to hundreds of billions, and recently two people have been severely scammed. The first is the big shot in the cryptocurrency circle "Sun", who has been harvesting others, but unexpectedly stumbled and was actually taken away by a trust in Hong Kong for 3.3 billion. What happened? Previously, Sun acquired a stablecoin company that mainly issued TUSD, which is pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio. However, to issue it, corresponding dollar assets must be held in reserve, amounting to 470 million USD (approximately 3.3 billion RMB), and not long after, it collapsed. How did the money disappear? The shareholders of TUSD changed, and the entrusted dollar assets also had to be transferred to a new trust company, and both the old and new trusts were run by the same boss.

With the shareholder turnover, the two trust companies completed the transfer of the reserves, and the new trust signed a "full delegation investment management agreement" with a financial company in Singapore, investing 470 million USD into a US dollar bond issued by a Cayman Islands Aria fund, with the money being transferred through six transfers to a Dubai-based company called Aria DMCC. This is a "family business"; the husband issues the fund, while the wife collects the money, and the money was invested in worthless assets like coal mines in Africa and wind and solar energy in Australia, in short, it cannot be recovered. With the stablecoin lacking reserves, it is basically no different from a scam coin, TUSD plummeted, and investors were furious. Sun had to put out 500 million USD to stabilize the coin's value, and then he started filing lawsuits to get his money back. Sun claimed that the original shareholders, the trust, and the offshore fund conspired to commit fraud with forged agreements, and the boss of the Hong Kong trust took away 16 million USD in kickbacks. However, the trust side said that the operations and agreements were authorized by Sun, and were legal and compliant; Sun's accusations were slanderous, and they would take legal measures to maintain their innocence. Currently, the evidence seems favorable to Sun, and lawsuits are being filed simultaneously in Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with Dubai having already issued an asset freeze order against the Aria fund.

Sun has been harvested; the lawsuit may not be difficult, but getting the money back will be tough. The second case involves 15 billion USD, approximately 100 billion RMB. The victim is Nicolas Puech, the fifth-generation heir of Hermès, who was once the largest individual shareholder of Hermès, holding 6 million shares, accounting for 5.7%. He has always been single and has a poor relationship with his family, with only two close people in his life: a Moroccan gardener whom he adopted as a "son" and a financial advisor named Freymond, who is his indispensable "personal assistant". Freymond is 15 years younger than Puech and started managing Puech's finances in 1998. Later, in addition to financial management, he also began to handle Puech's various affairs.

From deciding which restaurant to book to signing authority, all were given to Freymond, with the largest portion being the Hermès equity, which was converted into bearer shares for Freymond to manage. The two had been "good" for over 20 years, but in 2022, their relationship broke down over a 1 million USD check. Puech chatted with Freymond, asking if the 1 million check for the gardener was arranged, and Freymond replied that it had already been given. This was overheard by the gardener's wife, who then told Puech that they had not received the 1 million check. Puech had to investigate, and it turned out that not only the 1 million, but also his Hermès shares worth 15 billion USD had been sold to LVMH's Arnault, with the money never reaching Puech's hands.

Arnault became the richest man, while Puech was left "high and dry". This matter became a mystery; Puech claimed he was unaware, but Freymond said he was fully aware. As the investigation continued, Freymond died in an accident after being hit by a train while riding his bicycle. Puech went from a billionaire to being broke, having to fly economy class on budget airlines, often stuck in the middle seat. Where did the money go? No one knows. Previously, people thought that trusts and top-tier wealth management companies were very reliable and could isolate assets. However, this industry is also where the most scammers reside; they harvest the rich without mercy, whether traditional or emerging wealthy individuals, they all fall into their traps. Why? Scammers have grasped the pain points; the higher the wealth, the more the need may not be for returns, but for the ability to solve problems.

Sun's reserves need professional custodianship to be compliant, while Puech's trusted Freymond not only handled big and small matters but also helped him with tax planning, allowing him to pay less tax. Professional scammers set traps based on your needs. For example, if trusts want to isolate assets, they must fully delegate to a third party; if not fully delegated, the trust is easily compromised. But if a third party wants to cheat you, that can happen in an instant because they have been given full delegation. Once the case breaks, they also have a story to tell, claiming they "received authorization to sign".

If these professionals are people close by, it becomes even easier; the word "trust" can outweigh returns. Therefore, backstabbing scams are harsher than professional schemes. As for the spirit of the contract, if I'm already planning to deceive you, what need is there for a spirit of contract? Their only advantage is that they don't deceive the poor.