Business / Billionaires

Taiwanese Steals $7 million, Buys Birkins: Report

An executive at a bicycle company in Taiwan has been indicted of embezzling $7.19 million to sustain her luxury shopping habit.

Jul 17, 2016 | By Staff Writer

An executive at a bicycle company in Taiwan has been indicted of embezzling $7.19 million to sustain her luxury shopping habit. According to a report in the Taipei Times, the Accell Group accountant skimmed money off the companyā€™s books and spent it on high end products from Hermes, Cartier, Loewe and Mikimoto; apparently her item of choice was the HermĆØs Birkin, of which she purchased at least six. It never ceases to amaze us how far people will go for a Birkin.

The Chinese-language Apple Daily revealed the accusedā€™s name as Liu Fang-ting and reported that she worked at Accellā€™s Taiwan branch as an accountant and cashier. In January, the company noticed that it had a ā€œholeā€ in its accounts and the police started an investigation shortly after.

Liu turned herself in to the authorities at this point, claiming she spent every dime she stole on her shopping habit. She reportedly told police that she was trying to emulate Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lauā€™s girlfriend Chen Kaiyun, who it seems favors the aforementioned HermĆØs Birkinsā€¦ Lau of course is known to us for his blue diamond purchases.

Interestingly, although Liu reportedly used the ill-gotten gains to buy department store credits, much of her spending spree was online. Apple Daily cites online sellers as confirming that they sold the six Hermes Birkins to Liu, for upwards of $62,000 each.

Liu was indicted on charges of embezzlement and forgery. She was released on bail pending her scheduled trial Friday. Read the original story here.


 
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