SEC files fraud charges against 2 Chinese execs WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators have filed civil fraud charges against the chairman and the former CEO of a Chinese company, accusing them of duping people to invest in a coal company that actually was an empty shell. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the charges Wednesday against Ming Zhao, chairman of Puda Coal Inc., and its former CEO, Liping Zhu. The SEC said they conspired to "loot" and sell the company's main asset, a coal mining firm. Puda Coal's stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange from September 2009 to August 2011. The SEC said Zhao and Zhu raised money from U.S. investors in two public stock offerings. The SEC has been investigating Chinese companies that trade in the U.S. Zhao and Zhu, residents of China, couldn't be located for comment.