Pyramid scheme promoters jailed

Seventy five men have been sentenced to prison for holding 31 people against their will for up to two weeks to intimidate them into joining a pyramid scheme, a Shanghai court said Thursday.

The sentences in the eight cases ranged from six to 18 months in prison for each defendant, none of whom was identified, according to a press release from the Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court.

The press release was short on details, and a court press officer said Thursday that he has nothing else to add.

In each instance, the defendants held the victims at an undisclosed location in Shanghai for periods ranging from several days to about two weeks, the court said.

The crimes took place from July 2012 to June 2013.

While confined, the victims were locked up, forbidden from contacting others and monitored around-the-clock, the court said. The defendants verbally abused anyone who resisted and sometimes threatened them with minor acts of violence.

The court did not disclose how the defendants lured the victims to the locations or what type of business or opportunity they were promoting. Typically, pyramid schemes operate under the guise of a legitimate business, usually involving sales.

The defendants gave the victims lectures about the purported business, claiming that it was subsidized by the government and could make them a lot of money, the court said. They also forced the victims to introduce them to friends and relatives to bring more people into the scheme.

Some victims signed up for the scheme. Others escaped. Some were rescued by police, the court said.

Several defendants and victims appealed a district court's initial ruling on the matter, though Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court did not disclose the nature of the appeals.

The appeals were later withdrawn, allowing the initial verdict to take effect, the court said.