A business chief who led a scam?that conned some 2,000
people out of more than 110 million yuan (US$13.6 million) and
defrauded his own company?was sentenced to death with a
two-year reprieve on December 30, 2005, China Daily
reports today.
Wang Risheng started the racket when he became manager of the
Guangzhou Molong Technology and Trade Co Ltd in June 2001.
He siphoned off most of the firm's funds for himself, while
giving only a fraction back to investors and bonuses for his
employees.
The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court said that Wang, a
native of Suixi County of south China's Guangdong Province, was
also the principal of a scam in which a total of 2,077 people were
swindled.
The court found that Wang could not return more than 99.9
million yuan (US$12.3 million) out of the total swindled money.
Another 13 defendants were also jailed for terms ranging from
two years and four months to 12 years.
Wang organized a ring of 13 people after he became the general
manager of the company.
By June the following year Wang had opened a total of 11
branches, which were found to mainly engage in fraudulent
activities.
The court said that Wang and his accomplices called people,
claiming they were carrying out a social survey to lure them to
visit the websites of two "manufacturing bases."
His company also held promotional activities by inviting some
pop stars to try to convince people to invest money. Many invested
all of their savings in Wang's fake investment projects, such as
beverage sales and real estate development, after visiting the
websites.
Most victims were middle-aged or pensioners who were attracted
by claims of annual returns ranging from 15 to 50 percent.
Police detained Wang in September 2003.
"Now Wang has been sentenced to death, how can our investment
money be returned?" asked a victim surnamed Zhang from southwest
China's Sichuan Province.
Zhang had invested all his savings totaling 15,200 yuan
(US$1,874) for one project after he was told by the company that
more money could be returned after investment.
(China Daily January 6, 2005)