Vic Chou and Wife Yu Hongyuan Scammed in Insurance Fraud Case

Taiwanese Star Vic Chou and Wife Fall Victim to Shocking Insurance Scam

Taiwanese actor Vic Chou and his wife Yu Hongyuan have sadly landed in the headlines for all the wrong reasons — the couple were swindled out of a jaw-dropping NT$34.47 million (that’s over £850k!) in a high-profile insurance fraud case that’s now closed with a prison sentence for the scammer involved.

It All Started With What Seemed Like a Legit Policy…

Back in 2018, Yu Hongyuan took out a 6-year savings insurance policy, listing Vic as the main insured. Everything looked proper on paper — the premiums were split into six payments, with each one totalling a hefty NT$6.84 million, and the payments were originally set to be auto-deducted from Yu Hongyuan’s account.

Enter Feng Yaohua, the insurance agent at the heart of it all.

In 2019, Feng allegedly warned YuHongyuan against doing large bank transfers, claiming that such hefty transactions might trigger tax audits or even raise money laundering suspicions. Instead, Feng pushed for cash payments, saying she’d personally deliver them to the insurance company. Trusting her, Yu agreed.

The Cash Kept Coming… But Not to the Right Place

From May 2019 to September 2021, Yu Hongyuan made several in-person cash payments for the second, third, and fourth premium instalments. Feng even convinced her to prepay the fifth and sixth instalments in one go — dangling a discount of NT$3.47 million as bait.

By the time Yu Hongyuan received an overdue notice from the insurance firm in October 2022, the damage was already done. None of the payments had ever reached the company. Yu and Vic had been duped.

Court Drama & Final Verdict

Feng Yaohua was dragged to court and charged with five counts of fraud. She tried to defend herself, claiming she only "borrowed" the money and hadn’t taken the final payment at all — but couldn’t provide any concrete evidence. Her excuses didn’t hold up.

The Taipei District Court found her guilty of four out of the five fraud charges, sentencing her to 2 years and 8 months in prison. Feng has already begun serving her sentence.

On the civil side, Vic Chou and Yu Hongyuan also sued Feng Yaohua, along with her supposed supervisor surnamed Su and the brokerage firm she worked under — Gongsheng Insurance Brokers. The court ruled that all three are jointly liable to repay NT$20.63 million in damages to the couple. The civil verdict is still appealable.

The Bigger Picture

What’s even wilder is that Feng reportedly “borrowed” a licence from a senior colleague to appear more legit — even presenting them as her direct superior to gain trust. It worked, and it cost Vic Chou and Yu Hongyuan dearly.

While justice has now been served, the case serves as a pretty stark reminder: Always double-check your insurance deals — especially when someone tells you to bring cash.

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