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SIX suspects who allegedly cheated about 600,000 people out of nearly 3 billion yuan (US$475 million) under a pyramid sales scam were arrested last week.
The suspects will face criminal charges, according to the police. The suspects allegedly conducted the scam under the name of a Hong Kong company, ABM Technology, and recruited victims to sell Internet telephone software.
The gang tried to convince victims with claims that entrepreneur Richard Li, son of Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing, held a 30 percent stake in the company while also claiming its operation was supported by Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
On promotion pamphlets distributed by the company, there are photos of Li Xing, the director of ABM and the main suspect, posing with Tsang and Li Ka-shing, police said.
However, police found Li Xing took the photos with wax figures at Hong Kong’s Madam Tussauds Museum and then used computer software to alter the images.
Victims claimed that ABM said Mycool could be used to conduct telephone-like voice conversations via computer, make cheap long-distance calls, send messages and watch movies online for free.
Investors had to buy at least one Mycool product to join the program and start earning commissions to recruit new members. Police began investigating ABM two years ago over concerns about sales of its software.
Victim Xie Shuhua said she visited Hong Kong to check out the company before paying more than 50,000 yuan for a “membership fee.”
After seeing the “celebrity pictures” at the company’s 200-square-meter reception center, Xie agreed to join.
However, Xie and another 40 victims had been unable to contact ABM since February 2010. She went to Hong Kong again, only to find an empty office in the building where she signed the contract.
The victims jointly sent complaints to Shenzhen’s consumer rights protection watchdog, who reported ABM to police after suspecting it might be a pyramid sales scam.(SD-Agencies)
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