3 debt-trap fraudsters receive maximum sentences

Three people have been sentenced to life imprisonment for running debt-trap scams, the first batch in Shanghai to receive maximum penalties for the charge, according to Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People’s Court.

Two of those sentenced, surnamed Huang and Xie, set up a private pending company in early 2015. They lured victims to borrow money from them without interest and then ordered their victims to sign IOU notes stating huge debt that didn’t exist.

Once victims refused to pay, they cursed, abused and illegally imprisoned the victims to force them to pay the funds back. If the victims didn’t have enough money, they would force them to sell their homes. Without lending a penny, they gained big fortune.

The other, surnamed Xie, used the same method to defraud people, the court said.

Huang and Xie were found to have cheated 33 victims out of 14 million yuan (US$2 million), and Zhang was found to have cheated 39 people out of 18 million yuan.

They were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined from 1.5 million yuan to 2 million yuan respectively.

Between 2016 and August 2018, Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People’s Court heard 31 debt trap scams, involving 211 victims and 143 million yuan.