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PR boss reportedly faces 8 month imprisonment for defrauding client

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Hiu May Wai , owner of local boutique PR agency Studio Bianco,  has been convicted of presenting false invoices and quotations to its client MCM, a German luxury handbag brand. This is for a reimbursement of expenses totalling over HKD $1.26 million.

Wai, 42, admitted to 12 fraud charges in August 2017, and was sentenced to imprisonment for eight months and suspended for two years on 29 September, Ming Pao reported.

The charges alleged that between 27 April 2011 and 23 January 2014,  the defendant falsely claimed that Studio Bianco had respectively engaged and paid for services provided by 19 companies for MCM Fashion Group (MCM), totalling over HKD $1.26 million.

The defendant was a director-cum-share holder of Nube providing public relations service in the name of Studio Bianco, which was retained by  MCM as its public relations agency at a monthly fee.

Apart from the monthly fee, Studio Bianco could claim reimbursement of expenses from MCM with supporting documents.

A staff member MCM Fashion Group has written a plea for Wai, praising  her performance and explaining that Wai had returned all the money.

The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above alleged offences.

The story was first reported by Marketing-Interactive.com.

Photo/ 123RF 

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