Two men have been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for their roles in a burglary linked to a long-standing legal dispute involving a controversial investment scheme. The incident, which occurred in October in Epsom, Auckland, involved a group of men who broke into the home of Lam Yeung, a former employee of MBI International Holdings, a Malaysia-based company described as a Ponzi scheme. The break-in was carried out in an attempt to recover funds lost to the scheme, which had defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars, particularly from Chinese investors. The burglars, who dressed in black and wore masks, caused severe distress to the victim, a young woman who was staying in the home at the time. The Crown prosecutor described the incident as involving 'extreme intimidation' and a 'sexual undertone' at the end, which added to the victim's trauma. The young woman later withdrew from her university courses and returned to China. The men involved were motivated by financial gain and had been approached by an associate of one of the defendants to assist in recovering assets. Despite their efforts, the group only managed to take about $10,000 worth of items, most of which were damaged. Judge Neil Campbell had previously ruled that the plaintiffs in related civil cases had a 'good arguable case' against the defendants, but he declined to freeze assets due to a lack of evidence of dissipation. The MBI International scheme, founded by Tedy Teow, was the subject of an Interpol 'red notice' in 2020. Teow was arrested in Thailand in 2023 and extradited to China, where he is providing information to authorities. Malaysian police have recovered approximately $1.5 billion in assets from the company, which is believed to have defrauded investors of around $12.7 billion. The Epsom property, valued at $5.07 million, had functioning security cameras that provided evidence for the prosecution. The case highlights the ongoing legal and social impact of the MBI International scheme, which has affected numerous investors and led to a series of legal battles in New Zealand and Malaysia.