Brian Kim

Brian Kim (also known as "Bu Yung Kim"; born 1975/1976) is an American former hedge fund manager. He founded the now-defunct Liquid Capital Management LLC, which focused on futures trading.

In 2011, he was found guilty of fraudulent solicitation, misappropriation, and misrepresentation to investors and regulatory organizations. An injunction was sought, preventing him from trading in commodities futures and foreign currencies. A $12.5 million default judgement was entered against him, and he was banned from commodity trading.

In 2012, he pleaded guilty to charges including passport fraud, grand larceny, scheme to defraud, violation of the NY General Business Law (Martin Act), and falsifying business records to further a Ponzi scheme. He was sentenced to a term of five years, seven months and 15 years, seven months in prison.

Early life and education Kim was born in the late-to-mid 1970s in New Jersey.

Career He founded the now-defunct Liquid Capital Management LLC, which focused on futures trading, in 2002 and had an office on Broadway in New York City.

In 2009, Kim twice appeared on CNBC's financial television news show Squawk Box, speaking as an expert about derivatives trading.

Controversy Brian Kim owned and lived in an apartment at Christodora House. He was indicted and arrested in 2009, and accused of stealing $435,000 from the Christodora House condo association in 2008.

Kim failed to appear at his trial in January 2011, and was charged with jumping bail. He had fled to Hong Kong after obtaining a new passport by saying his was lost. In fact it had been confiscated by authorities. The agency said Kim and his employees told clients that Liquid Capital generated returns of more than 240 percent, when in fact they were losing money, and the only funds coming in were from new deposits by clients.

In April 2012, Kim was sentenced by Justice Charles H. Solomon in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan to five to 15 years in state prison, which was to commence after Kim had served seven months in federal prison on his passport fraud conviction.