{"id":259387,"date":"2009-03-23T08:53:00","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T08:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2009\/03\/23\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/"},"modified":"2009-03-23T08:53:00","modified_gmt":"2009-03-23T08:53:00","slug":"china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

Chinese authorities handed out a 15-year prison sentence to the leader of a pyramid scheme that defrauded 22,000 investors of $246 million.<\/p>\n

In all, 28 people were convicted. The leader, Zhao Pengyun, was fined $44 million along with his jail sentence, Xinhua reported Monday.<\/p>\n

Authorities said Zhao planned the scheme in 2004, while in jail on a previous pyramid scheme conviction.<\/p>\n

Pyramid sales structures are illegal in China.<\/p>\n

All of those convicted were employees of the Yilin Wood Co.. The scheme involved soliciting new sales people, each of whom needed to make purchases to join the sales team, Xinhua reported Monday.<\/p>\n

The company signed contracts to purchase 64,492 hectares of land, which was to support forestry plantations. But some of the land was unsuitable to forestry, was not maintained or did not exist, Xinhua said. While the scheme’s ring leaders lived well on the proceeds, thousands of forestry workers went unpaid, court records show.<\/p>\n

Sentences for the 28 ranged from one year to 15 years. The Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing gave suspended sentences to six others, Xinhua said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-259387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

Chinese authorities handed out a 15-year prison sentence to the leader of a pyramid scheme that defrauded 22,000 investors of $246 million.<\/p>\n

In all, 28 people were convicted. The leader, Zhao Pengyun, was fined $44 million along with his jail sentence, Xinhua reported Monday.<\/p>\n

Authorities said Zhao planned the scheme in 2004, while in jail on a previous pyramid scheme conviction.<\/p>\n

Pyramid sales structures are illegal in China.<\/p>\n

All of those convicted were employees of the Yilin Wood Co.. The scheme involved soliciting new sales people, each of whom needed to make purchases to join the sales team, Xinhua reported Monday.<\/p>\n

The company signed contracts to purchase 64,492 hectares of land, which was to support forestry plantations. But some of the land was unsuitable to forestry, was not maintained or did not exist, Xinhua said. While the scheme’s ring leaders lived well on the proceeds, thousands of forestry workers went unpaid, court records show.<\/p>\n

Sentences for the 28 ranged from one year to 15 years. The Second Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing gave suspended sentences to six others, Xinhua said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>","yoast_head":"\nChina pyramid scheme cost victims $246M - Moldova.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Autor invitat\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Autor invitat\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd\"},\"headline\":\"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-03-23T08:53:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":178,\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/\",\"name\":\"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M - Moldova.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-03-23T08:53:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moldova.org\",\"description\":\"The first news website of Moldova\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd\",\"name\":\"Autor invitat\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Autor invitat\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moldova.org\\\/en\\\/author\\\/admin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M - Moldova.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Autor invitat","Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/"},"author":{"name":"Autor invitat","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd"},"headline":"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M","datePublished":"2009-03-23T08:53:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/"},"wordCount":178,"articleSection":["Economy"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/","url":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/","name":"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M - Moldova.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-03-23T08:53:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/china-pyramid-scheme-cost-victims-246m-191207-eng\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"China pyramid scheme cost victims $246M"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/","name":"Moldova.org","description":"The first news website of Moldova","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/e590ccdfbd35fcd038aaf1b84370dadd","name":"Autor invitat","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f57d391b1fe13609c1c398a550a7b6f0e8babe6cd537d48bbeb806ba55c53094?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Autor invitat"},"url":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259387\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}