The Jinchang Intermediate People's Court recently ruled on two cases involving telecommunications fraud, sentencing ten defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from ten months to one year for assisting in information network crimes. The court also recovered over 1.19 million yuan in illegal proceeds.

According to reports, since 2022, Shen, motivated by illegal profit, invested in computers, IoT cards, and other equipment, and recruited four individuals, including Li and Chen, to join his venture. They then hired over ten individuals and established a USDT (Tether) trading studio in rented properties in Hefei, Anhui, and created an illegal off-exchange trading group on the Telegram app. They engaged in illicit activities by buying USDT at a lower rate and selling it at a higher rate to profit.

Despite knowing that the USDT they received originated from illegal activities such as online gambling and telecommunications fraud, the five individuals repeatedly took risks and assisted fraudsters in converting USDT to Chinese Yuan. They also coordinated with downstream “coin merchants” like Li to facilitate payments through Alipay, WeChat transfers, and cash deposits according to the specified methods of the upstream criminals.

By the time the case was brought to light, the defendants had earned over 880,000 yuan in profits. This included over 5.9 million yuan fraudulently obtained from victims like Meng, a resident of Chengguan Town, Yongchang County, who had been scammed while investing in virtual currencies and online “brushing” (a form of online fraud involving manipulating online reviews). These funds were transferred to the accounts used by Shen and his associates for USDT trading.

The court ruled that Shen's actions, along with his accomplices, in using virtual currency trading to help telecommunications network fraudsters transfer funds, went beyond simply operating a virtual currency business. Their actions were deemed a crucial link in the chain of cracking down on illegal and criminal activities involving telecommunications networks, and they should be punished accordingly.