ChainCatcher News: Yongchang Court Sentences 10 Individuals for Aiding Information Network Crimes

A recent article published on the public account of the Jinchang Intermediate People's Court reported that the Yongchang Court in Gansu Province, China, has sentenced 10 defendants to prison terms ranging from 10 months to one year for aiding information network crimes. The court also ordered the recovery of over 1.19 million yuan in illegal proceeds.

The report states that in 2022, Shen (surname withheld) raised capital to purchase computers, IoT cards, and other equipment with the intention of illegal profit-making. Shen recruited Li, Chen, and two other individuals, and then hired more than 10 others to rent houses in Hefei, Anhui Province, to establish USDT (Tether) trading studios. They formed illegal off-exchange trading groups using the Telegram app and profited by buying USDT at a lower price and selling it at a higher price. Despite knowing that the USDT they were receiving originated from activities like online gambling and telecommunications fraud, the five defendants repeatedly took risks and used their "high exchange rate" to help telecommunications fraudsters settle payments between USDT and Chinese yuan.

Shen also contacted downstream "coin merchants," including Li, to settle payments via Alipay, WeChat transfers, and cash deposits according to the payment methods specified by the upstream criminals. By the time the case was uncovered, the defendants had earned over 880,000 yuan. This included over 5.9 million yuan defrauded from victims like Meng (surname withheld) in Chengguan Town, Yongchang County, who were involved in activities such as virtual currency investment and online "brushing orders" (a form of online fraud). These funds were all transferred to accounts associated with USDT trading used by Shen and his accomplices.

The court found that the defendants' use of virtual currency trading activities to assist telecommunications fraudsters in transferring funds went beyond simple virtual currency trading. These actions should be considered a key part of cracking down on the entire chain of telecommunications fraud and information network crimes, and the defendants should be punished accordingly.