Shanghai Police Crack Down on Investment Scams
It's a tempting idea: become a shareholder in a movie, watch it in theaters after its release, and collect dividends. However, this good fortune has already appeared in the scams perpetrated by some unscrupulous individuals.
On June 20th, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau held a press conference to report on the severe crackdown on economic crimes disguised as movie investments.
According to the briefing, in March this year, under the unified deployment of the Ministry of Public Security and with the coordination of related public security bureaus across the country, Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau's Investigation Team led by Pudong and Yangpu Districts conducted a concentrated crackdown on movie investment scams, cutting off one criminal chain involving multiple steps such as promotion, mediation, and contract fraud. A total of 44 suspects were arrested, and numerous fake documents, investment agreements, company seals, and promotional materials were seized, with an involved amount reaching 49 million yuan.
Waiting for dividends only to be blacklisted
In November 2022, Shanghai Police received a report from a citizen who claimed that in late 2021, he had seen an advertisement online promoting movie investments. The customer service representative told him that the company was a joint producer of multiple hot movies and offered him the opportunity to participate in investment projects before their release. He was promised that his investment would be protected, even if the actual box office performance did not meet expectations.
The citizen believed it and invested 11 million yuan through this company, investing in three movie projects.
After the movies were released, he found that their box office performances were decent. However, waiting for his share of the profits, he did not receive any dividends until the contract's expiration date. He tried to contact customer service for an explanation but discovered that they had already blacklisted him.
The police investigated further and found that there were similar experiences among other investors who had also been deceived. They believed that there might be economic crimes disguised as movie investments, and therefore, launched a comprehensive investigation.
Layered scams to lure investment
The police found that the criminal gang led by Chen had registered or controlled over 10 cultural communication and film production companies, carefully designing and arranging scripts, setting up layered scams to lure investors. They used various modes of promotion, including online advertisements, websites, short videos, and live broadcasts, to recruit investment from unsuspecting investors.
The police also discovered that Chen's gang had recruited multiple intermediaries across the country, who would introduce investors to their companies, offering them attractive returns. After the deals were made, Chen's gang would pay these intermediaries a commission of 30-60% as compensation.
As of now, the criminal gang has embezzled investment funds totaling 49 million yuan from investors across the country.
The police further investigated and found that Chen's gang had been using various methods to defraud investors, including creating fake movie projects, promising unusually high returns, or even "eating one bird" by selling the same project multiple times to different investors. They also created fake investment products and promised investors fixed returns.
The police have arrested main suspects Chen and others involved in this case and taken them into custody. Other suspects are being held in custody pending further investigation. The case is ongoing.