One of Singapore's flashiest CEOs was planning to throw a Tomorrowland-style party for the books. Then the mirage started to fall apart.
- Businessman David Yong, 37, once claimed his wealth ranked him in the "top 1%" of Singapore.
- Besides making his own K-pop music video, Yong starred in the Netflix series "Super Rich in Korea."
Evergreen Group Holdings CEO David Yong is many things.
The 37-year-old businessman, lawyer, and K-pop enthusiast grabbed headlines when he appeared as a cast member in the Netflix series "Super Rich in Korea."
But the self-proclaimed "multi-hyphenate influencer CEO" is now facing some serious allegations from prosecutors in Singapore.
On August 1, Yong was arrested by the Singaporean police. He was later charged on Saturday and accused of abetting another person to falsify a company tax invoice in December 2021, per a court document obtained by The Straits Times.
The charges come at a critical time for Yong, whose company is co-organizing the Singaporean edition of Waterbomb, a South Korean-themed music festival. Waterbomb Singapore is set to take place at Singapore's Sentosa Island from August 24 to 25.
According to the event website, the star-studded event is set to feature K-pop artists like the singer-dancer Rain and rapper-singer CL.
While on the Netflix show, Yong made some big claims about his net worth and clout.
"I'm Singapore top 1% super rich," Yong said while introducing himself in the series.
"My house in Singapore has four stories. It's a villa house. It comes with a swimming pool and an elevator," Yong said over a montage of a sprawling home and luxury cars.
The home featured on Netflix, however, wasn't owned by Yong who later admitted to local newspaper The Straits Times that it was a "temporary place" he rented.
Yong, who released a Korean hip-hop music video in 2022, told luxury lifestyle magazine The Peak in May that his pursuit of K-pop stardom was actually for business purposes.
"How many people can call top celebrities or singers to come for dinner or to introduce them as partners? " he told the publication. "That kind of connection or network is not openly available to all."
The big blowout party on Sentosa Island looks set to go on. But Yong's legal troubles run deeper and plague him for a while more.
The Singapore Police Force revealed on Saturday that Yong and Evergreen Group Holdings are currently being investigated for possible fraud.
"Various companies under Evergreen Group Holdings were raising funds through the issuance of promissory notes that promised an annual interest of 10 per cent. Investigations arose due to the suspicion that investor monies were misused," the police said in a statement obtained by The Straits Times.
The police said Evergreen Group Holdings' promissory notes might have been issued in contravention of Singaporean laws regulating securities and futures.
The investigation comes more than a year after Yong's company was placed under an investor alert list by Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), on January 17, 2023.
According to the MAS, companies would be placed on the list if they are wrongly perceived as being regulated by them.
Representatives for Evergreen Group Holdings and the Singapore Police Force didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.