Weekend Long Read: The Celestial Con Man Who Created a Multimillion Dollar Pyramid Scheme in China

Zheng Feng was a charismatic figure who presented himself as an extraordinary master with supernatural powers, claiming to control the elements, heal the sick, and grant immortality. He fostered an image of divinity, portraying himself as the brother of the mythical Jade Emperor and handpicked as the sixth patriarch of a respected Daoist school. Zheng asserted that only he could activate a "primordial life force" in others, drawing hundreds of followers to his teachings. His promotional materials and staged miracles—like making clouds disappear or summoning butterflies—aimed to reinforce his celestial persona and remarkable powers [para. 1][para. 2][para. 3].

Zheng’s public persona began to unravel on February 26, 2023, when authorities detained him, revealing his long-running fraud. Many followers initially refused to accept the truth, insisting Zheng was wrongly accused. However, after a rigorous trial in Hainan, he was convicted of leading a pyramid scheme, committing fraud, and conducting illegal business activities. On April 28, 2025, Zheng was sentenced to 19 years in prison and fined 1.35 million yuan (approximately $187,000) for his crimes [para. 4][para. 5].

Born in 1969 in Hainan, Zheng had limited formal education but gradually built up credentials through correspondence courses. In 2016, his journey into “life energy” began, and with the help of his disciple, Hong Man, he registered the China Life Science Research Institute Ltd. in Hong Kong. Blending Daoist, Buddhist, and traditional Chinese medical concepts, Zheng began marketing “life energy” across China, offering immunity from disease and solutions to various ailments—claims that resonated amid anxieties about modern life and environmental decay. He published books and videos, staged elaborate classes, and even claimed that his knowledge was divinely passed down after 800 years [para. 6][para. 7][para. 8][para. 9][para. 10][para. 11].

The financial structure supporting Zheng’s operation was a pyramid scheme, formalized in 2022. Participants paid entry fees for “life energy activation”—from 990 yuan for entry-level to 100,000 yuan for advanced levels—and were incentivized to recruit new members, earning commissions and rebates. The organization had at least three levels and over 700 members, collecting over 31.8 million yuan, with Zheng himself taking around 27.3 million yuan [para. 17][para. 18][para. 19][para. 20][para. 21][para. 22].

Zheng exerted psychological, sexual, and financial control over his followers. He manipulated them into believing he could open their “third eye,” staged rituals involving drugs, and coerced sexual relations under the guise of Daoist "dual cultivation." He humiliated or threatened those who doubted him, fostering dependence through fear and spiritual promises. Several disciples, both women and men, lost significant sums—some spending over 800,000 yuan—with little to no benefits [para. 23][para. 24][para. 25][para. 26][para. 27][para. 28][para. 29][para. 30][para. 31][para. 32][para. 33][para. 34][para. 35][para. 36][para. 37][para. 38].

During his trial, Zheng confessed that his powers were fraudulent and his miracle videos fabricated. The court identified regional heads and recruiting followers as second and third tiers of the pyramid structure. His co-conspirators, including Hong and Wu (who ran an illegal clinic), were also convicted [para. 39][para. 40][para. 41][para. 42][para. 43][para. 44][para. 45][para. 46][para. 47][para. 48].

The Zheng Feng case highlights a broader issue in China involving fraudulent “spiritual cultivation” workshops and cult-like scams. Since 2018, police have broken up 77 major cases, arresting 269 people and seizing over 217 million yuan in illegal proceeds. As evidenced by Zheng’s followers, such organizations exploit human desires for health, longevity, and transcendence, using psychological manipulation, spiritual promises, and sometimes abuse, to control and profit from their victims [para. 49][para. 50][para. 51][para. 52][para. 53][para. 54].