In China, the popularity of sending money with smartphones is fueling a huge surge in the sale of risky, loosely regulated investments. Some offerings have wiped out personal savings. Photo: James T. Areddy/The Wall Street JournalCHONGMING ISLAND, China—Millionaire real-estate developer Han Hongwei has been accused of securities fraud by stock-market regulators, dishonesty and slander by a takeover target, and illegally firing employees. He wasn’t required to disclose any of that while pitching a $15 million investment deal last year to mom-and-pop Chinese through apps on their mobile phones. Anyone who put up $15,000 for eight months to help build Elegant Villa, more than 400 homes aimed at rich Shanghai residents as a weekend getaway on an...

Source: Wall Street Journal March 28, 2017 15:11 UTC