Danny Pang |
NEWPORT BEACH -- The death of an Orange County businessman accused in a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme has been ruled a suicide, Orange County sheriff's officials said.
Supervising Deputy Coroner Kelly Keyes says the death of 42-year-old Danny Pang was caused by a combination of seven different drugs: antidepressants, pain relievers, anti-anxiety medication and THC, which is found in marijuana.
Pang was found unresponsive at his Newport Beach home on Sept. 11, 2009 and died the next day at Hoag Hospital.
The Taiwanese immigrant was accused of taking at least $83 million in inflated fees, salary and loans from his investment firm, Private Equity Management in Irvine, before it was seized by federal regulators in April.
He had denied any wrongdoing.
Pang had also faced a civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused him of siphoning $52 million from Taiwanese investors.
Pang also denied those claims.
Pang's wife, Janie, was shot to death in 1997 at their home in Villa Park, and no one has been convicted of that crime, according to the Los Angeles Times.
His wife's murder case raised quesitons of his possible ties to a dangerous Taiwanese gang.
Supervising Deputy Coroner Kelly Keyes says the death of 42-year-old Danny Pang was caused by a combination of seven different drugs: antidepressants, pain relievers, anti-anxiety medication and THC, which is found in marijuana.
Pang was found unresponsive at his Newport Beach home on Sept. 11, 2009 and died the next day at Hoag Hospital.
The Taiwanese immigrant was accused of taking at least $83 million in inflated fees, salary and loans from his investment firm, Private Equity Management in Irvine, before it was seized by federal regulators in April.
He had denied any wrongdoing.
Pang had also faced a civil suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused him of siphoning $52 million from Taiwanese investors.
Pang also denied those claims.
Pang's wife, Janie, was shot to death in 1997 at their home in Villa Park, and no one has been convicted of that crime, according to the Los Angeles Times.
His wife's murder case raised quesitons of his possible ties to a dangerous Taiwanese gang.
