US regulators probe property developer targeting overseas Chinese investors
NDD Group faces international fraud allegations after complaints from buyers spark investigation by North Dakota Securities Department
US property developer NDD Group, which has targeted overseas Chinese investors to fund its projects, is under investigation by a US regulator for alleged international fraud.
"The case was opened based on investor complaints from several countries," Kelly Mathias, an investigations and examinations supervisor of the North Dakota Securities Department, told the South China Morning Post.
"The complaints alleged misrepresentation and fraud. Our office has not reached any conclusions on the case and it remains an open investigation," said Mathias.
Tapping the US shale gas boom, NDD builds accommodation for workers in North Dakota and Montana, two US states with abundant shale gas resources. NDD sells properties to investors around the world, who in turn rent the units to workers. The company has a head office in North Dakota and an office in Milton Keynes, Britain, according to its website.
NDD has made 19 sales totalling US$1.85 million to investors in the mainland and 34 sales totalling US$3.36 million to investors in Hong Kong, Mathias said.
A banker living in Hong Kong told the Post that he had lost money investing in NDD's properties.
The banker, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had bought six NDD property units in the US for a total of US$265,000, but had only got back US$10,000.