Daniel Chu

Daniel Chu is an American businessman, and until October 2025, was the co-founder, majority owner and CEO of Tricolor, a sub-prime auto lender and used car retailer that collapsed amid fraud allegations in September 2025. In December 2025, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged Chu, along with Tricolor's former COO, CFO, and a financial executive, with bank fraud and wire fraud, among other charges. ^[1] Prosecutors alleged that Chu directed a deputy to send him $6.25 million in bonuses in August as the company unraveled. ^[2]

Chu earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 1985 and a master's in athletic administration from the University of Miami in 1988. ^[3]

He is married to Constance Chu. In 2022, they paid $17.5 million for a condo at the Four Seasons Surf Club in Surfside, Florida. ^[4] They were both members of the No Kid Hungry leadership council until Tricolor's bankruptcy. ^[5]

References

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York (December 17, 2025). "CEO, CFO, COO Charged In Connection With Billion-Dollar Collapse Of Tricolor Auto". U.S. Department of Justice . Retrieved February 21, 2026.
2. Son, Hugh (December 17, 2025). "Tricolor CEO received a $6.25 million bonus weeks before company's bankruptcy, prosecutors say". CNBC. Retrieved February 21, 2026.
3. Adelman, Jacob. "U.S. Banks Missed Warning Signs on Tricolor. Now, Their Losses Are Adding Up". barrons. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
4. "TriColor CEO Daniel Chu buys South Florida condo for $18M". Dallas Business Journal. June 6, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2025.
5. "Leadership | No Kid Hungry Charity Leaders". www.nokidhungry.org. Archived from the original on October 13, 2025. Retrieved October 21, 2025.