The man behind a pyramid scheme whose investors held a mass protest in Beijing last year has now been sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment.

Zhang Tianming, leader of multi-level marketing (MLM) company Shanxinhui, was found guilty of organizing a pyramid scheme and disrupting public order, a court in Hunan province decided Friday. Zhang will be fined 100 million yuan ($14.5 million). Nine of Zhang’s associates were also sentenced.

Shanxinhui was targeted in a government crackdown on MLM organizations last year for cheating investors out of “huge amounts of property” while working “under the guise of helping the poor,” official news agency Xinhua reported at the time.

In July 2017, after Zhang was detained and placed under investigation, hundreds of investors gathered in Beijing to protest and call for his release.

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