- A Chinese court jailed nine for defrauding over 66,000 Indians in a $6.2M telecom scam via the fake investment platform SENEE.
- The fraud ring used fake Indian IDs, social media personas, and crypto to launder stolen funds, promising 8–15% returns.
- Lead suspect took 15% cut group had structured roles and ran the operation using overseas servers and fake licenses.
A local court in China has sentenced nine people to jail for scamming about 66,800 people in India through telecommunication fraud. The Heze Economic Development Zone People’s Court of Shandong Province sentenced them to between five and fourteen years and nine months imprisonment. The scheme consisted of fake investment websites, and the overall sum embezzled was 517 million Indian rupees ($6.2 million).
The alleged leader whose surname is He, was the mastermind of the operation. Later in May 2023, he chose to rent an office at Luxi New District of Heze, where he would use it as a base to conduct the scams. He then gathered other people, formed a gang, and rented Internet servers overseas to conduct the transnational fraud. The court papers presented show that the group used social media to engage the Indians in their micro-interactions.
Fraud Structure and Operations
The group then developed an investment scam called SENEE that incorporated chat apps and translation software in the fraud to lure Indian investors. Some were bogus, while the others were fake profiles of supposed successful Indian women with fake pictures and fictional descriptions of their current activities. They appeared to be wealthy individuals with financial progress through businesses and investment, which gave an impression of trustworthiness.
During its operation, it encouraged investors to invest in its programs, offering a monthly yield ranging between 8% to 15% based on an investment of as low as 1,000 rupees which is equivalent to $12. Once the victims had placed their funds, which exceeded the platform’s payout capacity, the scammers either closed the platform or debited the investments as non-refundable equity. The fraudsters then sent the obtained money to accounts in USDT cryptocurrency through other payment intermediaries and converted the tokens into CNY or USD. The main suspect confessed to taking a 15% commission from the proceeds, as determined by the analysis.
Verification of Facts Through Fake Identification and Documentation
To enhance credibility regarding the platform, the syndicate created fake company documents: Indian non-banking financial licenses, business incorporations, and trademark certifications. These materials were posted on a professional-looking company website to convince victims that the platform was legitimate.
There was a clear distinction of roles in the operation. He was responsible for managing fund transfers and dealing with the Indian companies while other members of the group rendered duties such as training employees, maintaining the method of payment and providing technical support. The court drew attention to the existence of a hierarchy and division of responsibilities in the group and to mechanisms of division of the spoils implying the existence of an organized criminal group.
Legal Judgment and National Crackdown
According to the court, the fraud was committed from June 1, 2023 to January 13, 2024. During seven months of operation, it focused on Indian citizens and employed information network technology to conduct massive online frauds. The defendants were convicted of fraud under Chinese law, and their penalties varied depending on the degree of their participation.
Chief judge Liu Xilei acknowledged that although this case involved overseas victims, such scams are prevalent in the Chinese market. Liu also highlighted that there is constant action against telecommunication fraud criminals. The involved should stop their business and think about turning themselves in for a chance to be spared.
