Founders Group International, who has a Myrtle Beach golf management company with a corporate office at Grande Dunes Golf Club, manages 22 golf courses.
Nick Dou, a NY based immigration attorney, who was also involved in the deal is now suing his partner Dan Liu for control of the company. A copy of the lawsuit can be seen here. The suit has not been served on Mr. Liu as sources say he fled the country before service could be achieved.
With the recent firing of all key financial managers, all FGI golf course holdings are now being managed by Steve Mays.
Liu, a native of the Peoples Republic of China, first appeared in 2014 buying up golf courses with apparently unlimited amounts of cash. At the time, Liu was hailed as a potential savior of the golf tourism industry in Horry County.
An arrest warrant was issued by the Nanjing District Attorney for Liu in 2016, but he remains a fugitive in the U.S., reportedly at the Grande Dunes home he has occupied since his wedding in 2015.
In the 2014-15 timeframe, Liu and his Founders Group International LLC acquired a total of 22 golf courses, various potential development properties and homes. It is estimated his total expenditure in the Grand Strand area was approximately $140 million.
Liu’s wealth supposedly came from his ownership stake in Yiqian Funding, also marketed as “Easy Richness”, a peer to peer lending business in his native China.
If Liu and his wife, Xuan Zhuang, become unavailable to operate FGI, local real estate investor and developer D.J. Karavan has been assigned power of attorney by Liu, according to documents filed in Horry County.
Liu and Dou purchased all of the courses and most of FGI’s properties between September 2014 and April 2015 as partners through nearly 20 limited liability companies under the FGI umbrella.
Prosecutors in Xue’s trial accused Liu and Xue of being complicit in fraud that included running investors’ money through their personal accounts and spending it for their own benefit, including overseas investments.
Xiuli “Lily” Xue stands in a Chinese court room on Friday as she is sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud. Nanjing Intermediate People's Court
Despite the claims of Xue and prosecutors, and the testimony in court documents of dozens of former Yiqian employees who identify him as a company operator, Liu has previously denied being in charge of Yiqian.
If Liu and his wife, Xuan Zhuang, become unavailable to operate FGI, local real estate investor and developer D.J. Karavan has been assigned power of attorney by Liu, according to documents filed in Horry County.
Liu and Dou purchased all of the courses and most of FGI’s properties between September 2014 and April 2015 as partners through nearly 20 limited liability companies under the FGI umbrella.
Prosecutors in Xue’s trial accused Liu and Xue of being complicit in fraud that included running investors’ money through their personal accounts and spending it for their own benefit, including overseas investments.
Xiuli “Lily” Xue stands in a Chinese court room on Friday as she is sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud. Nanjing Intermediate People's Court
Despite the claims of Xue and prosecutors, and the testimony in court documents of dozens of former Yiqian employees who identify him as a company operator, Liu has previously denied being in charge of Yiqian.