A court in east China's Zhejiang Province on Wednesday sentenced 115 people to prison terms for telecom fraud.
Most of those convicted were college or high school graduates recruited via job fairs and job-hunting websites, according to the court in Haining City.
Six defendants founded three companies in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province from 2013 to 2015. The companies hired staff to swindle more than 30 million yuan (4.6 million U.S. dollars) from over 20,000 people across the country.
A former shareholder of the three companies, Wu, was given the highest sentence of 12 and a half years. Wu was also fined 450,000 yuan.
The companies mainly hired telephone operators to make calls and offer free gifts. The victims were then lured into paying fees or taxes to get the gifts.
Telecom fraud is a growing crime in China.
