After investigation by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police and a court trial, Sunshine Empire's Directors were charged with and found guilty of fraud, criminal breach of trust and falsifying accounts.
Prior to the existence of Sunshine Empire, its founders had had a long history of establishing similar investment schemes under various business names, with none ever having been materialized.
It was reported that there was also a group of middle-aged people who were trained separately from the majority and who drove luxury sedans like Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs despite being only in their early twenties.
[clarification needed] These "car achievers" were also known as managers who always dressed smartly in black suits and carried Montblanc pens and wallets.
[8] Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, a director of Sunshine Empire, and James Phang Wah each faced a charge of fraudulent trading under Section 340 of the Companies Act; a charge of failure to maintain proper accounting records of Sunshine Empire under Section 199 of the Companies Act; and eight charges of criminal breach of trust as an agent of Sunshine Empire under Section 409 of the Penal Code.
On 16 July 2010, Phang and Hoo were found guilty of perpetuating fraud, of criminal breach of trust and for falsifying accounts.