AN East China court Friday sentenced an illegal fundraiser to 15 years of imprisonment and confiscated 100 million yuan (US$14.57 million) of his personal property.

The Intermediate People’s Court of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, handed down the first-trial sentence to Zhang Xiaolei, who pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in court, saying that he would not appeal.

According to the court, Zhang established two firms in 2010 and 2012, with illegally-raised funds. Through the firms, he continued to manage a so-called “Qianbao Network,” promising a high return rate of 20 to 60 percent annually as bait to assimilate deposits.

Zhang concealed the fact that he only used a small portion of the funds for production and operation, and spent most of the funds for returning old debts, and lavishing personal consumption.

He exaggerated his business scale and investment value while sponsoring commercial activities for winning fund contributors’ trust. In December 2017, Zhang surrendered himself to the police.  

(Xinhua)