Quick Take: Leaders of Pyramid Scheme Charged With Allegedly Imprisoning Recruits

Six members of a notorious pyramid sales scheme have been charged with illegally imprisoning new recruits, including a recent college graduate who drowned while he was fleeing the operation.

The six suspects, all members of the so-called Diebeilei scheme in the city of Tianjin, were arrested in August after Li Wenxing was found drowned in a pond the month before, shortly after he attempted to leave the group.

The suspects were not found to be directly responsible for Li’s death, but instead will stand trial for unlawful imprisonment of Li and several other recruits, according to court documents viewed by Caixin. They had allegedly locked Li inside a dormitory since May 2017 to force him to pay a fee as part of joining the operation.

Several deaths have been linked to pyramid schemes, which China made illegal in 2009. The Diebeilei group was supposedly selling beauty products, but there is no evidence that any merchandise actually existed.

Unlawful imprisonment is punishable by three to 10 years under Chinese law. No trial date has been set for the six men.

Li’s family is considering suing the men and other senior members of Diebeilei who are in police custody, according to Wang Xuedian, a lawyer representing the family.

Last year, Li’s family filed a 2.3 million yuan ($360,000) lawsuit against the operator of Boss Zhipin, one of China’s biggest help-wanted sites, accusing the Beijing software company of negligence linked to Li’s death.

Li was duped into joining Diebeilei by replying to a job ad posted by scammers on the site, an ad the company failed to verify as required, police said.

Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)