[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
 
[2] Last night, talent show artist Liu Moumou was sentenced to three years and four months for fraud, trending first on the hot search list. It is reported that Liu Moumou is talent show star Liu Chengyi, who claimed to have connections in the entertainment industry to help others debut as a group. Two women believed her lies over two years and were defrauded of over 200,000 yuan. Liu Chengyi was recently sentenced by the Tongzhou Court to three years and four months for fraud and fined 30,000 yuan.

 
 

 
Case review
[3] Since debuting in 2019, Liu Moumou has released 10 singles and participated in multiple talent shows on various platforms, but all received mediocre responses. However, her frequent participation in talent shows allowed her to get to know some TV directors and agents, which made her appear to be a seasoned insider in the eyes of the ordinary girl Xiaomei.

[4] Xiaomei, a high school graduate with a youthful and attractive appearance, aspired to become a star. After drifting in Beijing for years without opportunities, she met Liu Moumou through several contacts with entertainment companies. Liu Moumou repeatedly told Xiaomei that she was forming a girl group and that Xiaomei had good qualifications meeting the group's standards, promising to arrange for her to debut on a show. Overjoyed at being appreciated by Liu Moumou, Xiaomei immediately agreed.

 

[5] Liu Moumou claimed that current girl group stars needed academic credentials, and since Xiaomei only had a high school diploma, she could arrange for Xiaomei to enroll in a music college to avoid attacks from haters. The enrollment fee was 70,000 yuan, and Xiaomei, suspecting no fraud, immediately transferred the money. Later, Liu Moumou falsely claimed to arrange for Xiaomei to appear on a major talent show, demanding money under the pretext of bribing directors. From 2019 to 2021, she gradually extorted over 200,000 yuan from Xiaomei. Whenever Xiaomei asked when she could appear on the show, Liu Moumou always made excuses to delay.

Over time, Xiaomei grew suspicious and went to the music school that Liu claimed to check her enrollment, only to be told that she was not a student there and that Liu had never processed her admission. In a panic, Xiaomei found Liu's junior fellow apprentice, Xiaohong, whom she had met through Liu. Liu had claimed that Xiaohong was also a member of the girl group he had selected and had taken over 60,000 yuan from her under the same pretext of appearing on shows. When Xiaomei and Xiaohong confronted Liu, he said he had already squandered the money and had nothing left to return to them. With no other choice, the two had to report the matter to the police.
 
 
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 266
Whoever defrauds public or private property, if the amount is relatively large, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined; if the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have property confiscated. Where this Law otherwise provides, such provisions shall prevail.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
First, the perpetrator committed a fraudulent act, which in form includes two types: fabricating facts and concealing the truth. In essence, Liu fabricated his ability to help others form a group and debut, causing the two victims to fall into a mistaken understanding, thereby transferring their property to Liu and suffering financial losses. In fact, whether fabricating or concealing past, present, or future facts, as long as it has the above content, it constitutes a fraudulent act.
 
Nowadays, it is understandable that some girls, whether out of a desire for beauty or fame, hope to become stars. But they never imagined that behind these seemingly dazzling halos, there might be dark corners and false scams. Therefore, while blindly pursuing fame, one must also see clearly whether there are traps that lead to ruin. Sometimes, the pie that falls from the sky may not be a pie at all, but an unattainable illusion.