420 Million Yuan Pyramid Scam in Two Years
The customer acquisition tactics are remarkably sophisticated. He proactively buys a house, then intentionally defaults on the purchase—letting the buyer keep the deposit—and flaunts his investment earnings to project an image of someone for whom such sums are trivial. He regularly posts polished business updates on his WeChat Moments, gradually drawing people in to invest in his franchise. During the early stage, he maintains a pattern of regular shipments. Take the phone business case as an example: he claims exclusive, first-hand supply channels, but in reality, he uses investors’ money to buy products at inflated prices and resells them to investors at discounted rates. This manipulation convinces investors that the business is genuinely profitable. He then offers fixed monthly interest payments—yielding an annual return of about 6-15%—to lure them into investing even more. Eventually, he stops shipping, deletes friends, and absconds. After one cycle completes, he switches to a new account and repeats the con with new victims.
The houses he purchases routinely cost millions, serving as a near-perfect filter for his targets. Truly, he’s willing to sacrifice a child to catch a wolf. (His earliest victims were acquaintances; he cut off contact with them. The young man himself was driven to desperation by a 400,000 RMB online loan, which sparked his quick-witted response.)