Seventeen jailed in Shenzhen over overseas scam ring
On.cc · 1 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A court in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, concluded in April a cross-border telecom and online fraud case involving 17 defendants who had travelled overseas to join scam operations, and the judgments have now taken legal effect.
The court found that the wider fraud ring was organised by a man surnamed Wang from 2020 onward, with more than 100 members and clearly divided roles including reception, traffic diversion and order dispatch.
According to the ruling, the syndicate specifically targeted residents in mainland China by using purported sexual services as bait, then inducing victims to log into designated apps or platforms and make payments.
The 17 defendants were sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine months to one year and five months, and fined between 10,000 yuan and 102,000 yuan.
Key Points
- Mainland media reported on Thursday that the Nanshan District People's Court in Shenzhen finished hearing the case in April this year, and the verdicts have taken effect.
- The court said Wang assembled the overseas fraud group from 2020, expanding it to more than 100 people with specialised internal roles and coordinated operations.
- The ring lured victims with fake sexual services, pushed them to recharge accounts on designated software or platforms, then demanded further payments using fabricated excuses.
- Defendants including Li worked at overseas scam compounds from December 2020 to March 2021 after leaving China illegally on ordinary passports under unified arrangements.
- Twelve defendants also committed the offence of illegally crossing the national border after fabricating false reasons to obtain exit-entry documents for the trip.
Why It Matters
The case shows how overseas scam compounds can still draw recruits from Chinese-speaking communities and then direct fraud back at victims in China, a pattern that remains relevant to Hong Kong readers.
It also underlines that courts may pursue both fraud and illegal border-crossing charges when people knowingly travel abroad to join organised scam operations.