The scene of the verdict
Report by our newspaper (reporter Chen Songbo, intern Dong Jing): Falsely reporting registered capital, they established the "Mountain Chicken Breeding Cooperative," then promoted to the elderly that it was a risk-free money-making business. They claimed that as long as people deposited their savings, they could receive dividends every month. In just seven months, this cooperative illegally absorbed over ten million yuan in funds, with 413 victims, almost all of them retired seniors! Due to charges including illegal public deposit absorption, yesterday the six defendants were tried at the Jiangbei District Court.
"They only operated for a few months before being investigated. If they continued, we would definitely make money!" "You still want to make money? This is a group of scammers!" Yesterday, although the trial lasted about six hours and didn't end until 3:00 PM, more than a hundred victimized seniors still insisted on listening to the entire court session. During the recess, some victimized seniors even started arguing outside the courtroom. Currently, some victimized seniors still believe that the "mountain chicken breeding cooperative" can help them earn money.
Bait
Dividends plus free travel
"Worth it, I paid ten thousand."
A sixty-something-year-old grandmother surnamed Zhang was one of the victims. Yesterday morning, she arrived early at the court. She said that last August, while shopping in Huaxin Street in Jiangbei, she encountered a young man distributing flyers. The young man was very sweet, constantly calling her auntie. He told her that he was a staff member of the "Tongnan Qiaoling Seven-colored Mountain Chicken Professional Cooperative." "Our cooperative specializes in mountain chicken breeding, it's very profitable. We are currently recruiting members. As long as you deposit a sum of money, you can become a member and collect dividends every month. After a year, you can also retrieve your principal."
Later, under the organization of the cooperative staff, Grandma Zhang specifically went to Tongnan for an inspection. "I saw that they indeed had a farm raising mountain chickens, so I believed them. Moreover, they said that every month they would organize us to go on free trips to nearby suburbs, and if we bought mountain chickens, we would get an internal discount price. I thought it was worth it, so I paid ten thousand yuan and became a member. Before I even had time to collect my dividends, I heard that the company was investigated by the police, and it was illegal."
Jiangbei District Procuratorate found out that last March, the defendants Ran Qiaoling, Wang Zhiliang, Jie Fei, and Deng Yongmo (separately handled) conspired to breed and operate seven-colored mountain chickens in Tongnan County, Chongqing. Without actual investment, they falsely reported a registered capital of 856.8 million yuan and established the "Chongqing Tongnan Qiaoling Seven-colored Mountain Chicken Professional Cooperative." Subsequently, they adopted Deng Yongmo's model of "investing to become a member and collecting monthly dividends without risk" to absorb deposits from unspecified individuals.
Scam
In seven months, they absorbed over ten million yuan
Victims were mostly seniors
To facilitate fundraising, last September, the cooperative registered its Jiangbei branch in the Xipu Building in Huaxin Street, Jiangbei, and later set up promotional departments in Nanan District and Shapingba District. It was understood that defendant Ran Qiaoling served as the legal representative and chairman of the cooperative, defendant Wang Zhiliang as supervisor, defendant Jie Fei as general manager, defendant Zhou Xiang as market department head and Jiangbei branch director, defendant Lan Wei as Nantong branch director, and defendant Mei Shuyuan as Shapingba branch director.
Without approval from relevant departments, the cooperative used methods such as distributing flyers, inviting participation in activities, and inspections to promote the profit prospects of breeding seven-colored mountain chickens. They claimed that investing in the cooperative would yield returns, and the principal could be returned at any time. After making an investment, customers would sign a membership agreement with the "Qiaoling Seven-colored Cooperative" at the Jiangbei branch and become its members. Then, according to the agreed-upon annual surplus distribution rate of 8%, they would collect monthly surplus distribution rates. To motivate the cooperative's staff to attract investments, the cooperative offered personal commissions ranging from 3% to 18% of the attracted funds to the staff and managers.
After auditing, it was discovered that from last March to October, the illegally absorbed membership funds amounted to 10,147,916 yuan. During this period, due to requests from investors, fees for 54 people amounting to 863,537.5 yuan had already been refunded. It was understood that among the 413 victims, almost all were retired seniors.
Scene
Deceived seniors naively believed
Continuing operations would surely make money
Yesterday, the trial lasted from morning until nearly 4:00 PM in the afternoon, and the senior spectators persisted in listening to the entire court session. At lunchtime, many seniors were unwilling to buy even a bowl of congee, instead eating corn they brought themselves. "The ten thousand yuan I paid for membership has been saved for several years," said an elderly man surnamed He.
The victimized seniors exhibited great kindness. A listening grandmother quietly said, "Ran Qiaoling has lost a lot of weight. She used to be very fat." Some kind-hearted victimized seniors still did not believe yesterday that the cooperative had defrauded their money. They naively believed that if the cooperative operated for a longer period, it could help them make money. "They only operated for a few months before being investigated. If they continued, we would definitely make money!" one elder said during the recess. "You still want to make money? This is a group of scammers!" He immediately faced criticism from two other elderly women.
Truth
Money actually used for mountain chicken business
Only over 160,000 yuan
According to the investigation by the Jiangbei District Procuratorate, when the case occurred, out of the over ten million yuan of raised funds, 9,770,000 yuan had already been spent, including 2,040,000 yuan in commission fees, 1,200,000 yuan in office expenses and salaries, 2,300,000 yuan borrowed by Ran Qiaoling, 1,790,000 yuan in unclear expenditures, etc., with only over 160,000 yuan directly used for the mountain chicken business. By October 30th last year, there was only over 100,000 yuan left in the cooperative's account!
During the final statement, the six defendants all expressed regret to the elders and turned to bow to the victimized seniors in the audience. Due to the complexity of the case, the court did not announce the verdict yesterday.
During yesterday's trial, some victims were unwilling to even buy a bowl of congee.
Yesterday, the six defendants were tried.