Starch pills costing ten yuan transform into resurrection pills

Compiled from: Legal Daily
 
Recently, the Zhushan District People's Court in Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, legally ruled on the "July 1" health supplement fraud case investigated by the Jingdezhen public security authorities, sentencing the main distributor Qiang to 15 years in prison for crimes of selling counterfeit and substandard products, false advertising, and obstructing credit card management; sentencing six second-level distributors, including Chen and Liu, to 5 and 3 years in prison respectively for fraud; and sentencing Chu to 3 years in prison for illegally trading citizens' information.

 
 

Case review
On June 21, 2022, during a routine visit in their jurisdiction, police from the Nanhe Public Security Sub-bureau in Jingdezhen received a report from the daughter of a fraud victim: her father had repeatedly purchased the "863 Resurrection Pill" health supplement sold by a tech company via mail order, losing over 40,000 yuan.
 
After testing by the Jingdezhen market supervision department, the main ingredient of the "863 Resurrection Pill" was found to be starch. The Nanhe Sub-bureau of the Jingdezhen Public Security Bureau immediately filed a case and went to Nanjing for on-site investigation and evidence collection, fully uncovering the fraud: distributors of the "863 Resurrection Pill" illegally obtained information on elderly individuals who participated in TV shopping, assigned salespeople to pose as TV shopping health advisors recommending the resurrection pill, claiming it could boost immunity, with the aim of defrauding the elderly of their money for illegal profit.
 
Under the guidance and coordination of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Jiangxi Provincial Public Security Department, the Jingdezhen public security authorities quickly raided the company's Nanjing branch, arrested six suspects, seized over 300,000 yuan worth of "health supplements," and fully uncovered a fraud network involving 206 second-level distributors across 25 provinces nationwide.
 
According to police, the fraud criminal group consisted of three parts: the main distributor (consignor), the manufacturer, and the distributors, forming a relatively complete fraud chain. The main distributor (consignor) was a company called Xi'an a Biotechnology Co., Ltd., responsible for the product design, outer packaging design, custom promotional materials, and overall distribution of the "863 Resurrection Pill." The manufacturer, commissioned by the main distributor, was Xi'an a Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which produced and packaged the "863 Resurrection Pill." The distributors were spread across the country, responsible for developing customer sources, targeting elderly clients with financial means, consumption capacity, health concerns, and illnesses, gathering information on their medical history, physical condition, and personal needs, using false promotional materials to brainwash victims, fabricating efficacy, and luring them into purchases.
 
The group illegally obtained victims' contact information, then sold the "863 Resurrection Pill," which cost 14.6 yuan per box, to victims at prices ranging from 1,000 to 6,980 yuan per box through phone sales and cash-on-delivery mail orders, achieving the fraudulent goal of illegal profit.
 
To completely dismantle the fraud network and carry out a full-chain crackdown, in September 2023, the Ministry of Public Security launched a nationwide cluster campaign, precisely targeting general distributors, manufacturers, and secondary distributors. Over the course of more than 90 days, the elderly fraud gang led by general distributor Qiang was fully apprehended.
 
 
《 [1] The People's Republic of China 刑法》
Article 266 [Fraud Crime]
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
Starch pills costing only 14.6 yuan per box, through packaging design and false advertising, were transformed into the so-called "863 Resurrection Pill," claiming to unlock the secrets of chronic disease remedies from the 863 Program, and then sold at high prices ranging from 1,000 to 6,980 yuan. Most victims were elderly people... Seemingly meticulous "care" and "miracle cures" for all ailments often hide huge traps dug by criminals for the elderly. In recent years, China has consistently emphasized anti-fraud awareness. The elderly must comprehensively strengthen their ability to prevent fraud, enhance their skills in identifying scams, and bolster their capacity to counter fraud. Especially in the event of a fraud case, immediately preserve all relevant evidence and promptly report to the authorities for help.