China police seize 55 mln USD in pyramid scheme
Police in northeast China's Liaoning Province have seized 364 million yuan (US$55 million) in cash from an illegal pyramid scheme.
They detained 24 suspects in the pyramid selling scheme, spanning 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, said Deng Wanhong, deputy director of the municipal public security bureau in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, Tuesday.
Local police received a tip off in mid-September, and an investigation showed nearly 100,000 investors had been swindled out of around 600 million yuan.
A suspect surnamed Meng allegedly won the trust of investors by saying they could each receive 150,000 yuan in investment returns a year after paying a membership fee of 3,900 yuan, according to Deng. Each member could receive hundreds of yuan in reward if they could convince another person to join.
More than 200 police participated in the operation in four cities, Shenyang, Tieling, Hangzhou and Cangzhou, on Dec. 3. Besides the cash, police also seized 12 vehicles and sealed up five houses.
