SEC charges China's SinoTech Energy with fraud

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SEC charges China's SinoTech Energy with fraud
from MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Chinese oil services company SinoTech Energy Ltd. overstated the value of its assets so top executives could siphon off millions of dollars, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. The SEC said SinoTech promised to spend $120 million raised in its November 2010 initial public offering on lateral hydraulic drilling units. However, the company bought 11 units valued at less than $17 million while claiming to have bought 16 worth $94 million. Also, chairman Qinzeng Liu confessed to stealing $40 million from company accounts while SinoTech executives tried to hide this from investors, the SEC said. The SEC also charged SinoTech CEO Guoqiang Xin and former CFO Boxun Zhang with fraud.