"Daily pay of 15,000 to 150,000 yuan, with good credit, no monthly payments required." Under the guise of "car purchase and leaseback," a car sales company in Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as "the Company") used returns as bait to attract over 220 victims nationwide, illegally raising more than 97 million yuan. Prosecuted by the People's Procuratorate of Min District, Shanghai, in February 2026, the Minhang District People's Court sentenced the defendant Company to a fine of 1 million yuan for fundraising fraud; sentenced defendant Shi 9 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan for fundraising fraud; and sentenced defendants Xia, Li, and Chen to prison terms ranging from years 11 months to 2 years 2 months for illegally absorbing public deposits, along with respective fines. Recently, reporters from *Legal Daily* learned the details of this case the Minhang District Procuratorate. Daily "pie in the sky" is a trap In September 2023, Mr. Zhang, an office worker, saw a-paying job advertisement online. The ad claimed that by simply helping to process car loans, one could earn over 10,000 yuan a day, with the company covering monthly payments. Attracted by keywords like "daily pay of 15,000 yuan" and "no monthly payments required," Mr. Zhang contacted the advertiser. Customer service Chen introduced the "car purchase and leaseback" model to Mr. Zhang: Mr. Zhang would apply for a credit loan in his own name to buy the company's new energy, then lease the cars back to the company for operation. The company promised to repay all monthly payments and pay a one-time "vehicle residual value fee" of 15,00 to 23,000 yuan as compensation. Subsequently, Mr. Zhang was invited to the company for detailed discussions. Chen offered two options: first, take delivery of car after 5 years and earn a small monthly profit; second, do not take the car and receive the "vehicle residual value fee" in a lump sum. Mr. Zhang the latter. Arranged by loan intermediary Xia, Mr. Zhang processed three loans totaling 550,000 yuan from multiple banks. The funds were transferred directly into's designated account, and he signed car purchase and vehicle lease contracts with the Company. On that day, he received 60,000 yuan as the "vehicle residual value." After getting a taste of the "sweetness," Mr. Zhang signed multiple contracts in succession, accumulating nearly 400,000 yuan in commissions. In January2024, enticed by the promise that "buying more than 10 cars yields higher returns," he obtained a mortgage loan to sign purchase and lease contracts for 1 cars, incurring nearly 5 million yuan in loans. However, in September 2024, the Company began defaulting on monthly payments and the "vehicle residual value fees." and others completely disappeared, Mr. Zhang realized he had fallen into a scam. By then, the loans he had taken on had become inescapable debts.

Illegal fundraising of nearly 100 million yuan Mr. Zhang's experience is not an isolated case. As police investigation progressed, the criminal gang involving Chen gradually came to light. In January 2025, sales agent Chen was arrested, while another sales agent Li, loan agent Xia and the company's actual controller Shi voluntarily surrendered. Investigations revealed that in 2021, Shi attempted a "car loan and leaseback" model, which initially involved car purchases and timely repayments. By the end of 2022, the company's capital chain was on the verge of breaking. Knowing the company was continuously losing money and to repay, Shi and others turned the "car purchase and leaseback" into a tool for illegal fundraising. Starting in 2023, Shi hired agents to widely post advertisements claiming "no repayment required, get high commissions for free," attracting people with good credit scores who were eager to "make quick money" to take out loans in the name of renovation, consumption, etc., and transfer the funds into the company's account. The victims thought they had found a "wealth code," but in reality, they would end up burdened with massive debts. "This is a new type of financial crime disguised as a 'car purchase and leaseback' scheme. The primary issue is the legal characterization: determining this case is a simple economic dispute or a criminal case," the handling prosecutor told reporters. The case team first held a case seminar with police investigators and repeatedly dispatched personnel to guide investigation. The investigation determined that the company absorbed a total of over 97 million yuan, causing economic losses of over 64 million yuan to more than 220. The prosecutor pointed out that while the company superficially signed two contracts—one for car purchase and one for leaseback—promising to repay monthly installments and pay residual value commissions it actually used most of the funds to cover losses, pay agent commissions, and repay old debts, forming a typical "Ponzi scheme." The one-time commission received by the victims considered profit, the company's promise to repay monthly installments was considered capital protection, and with the vehicle serving as "security," the act essentially constituted a promise of capital protection interest payments.

Severing a chain of the black industry On February 20, 2025, the Minhang Districtate approved the arrest of Shi and others on suspicion of illegal absorption of public deposits and fundraising fraud. As the person in charge directly responsible for the company, Shi, knowing that the was insolvent and its business model unsustainable, still exaggerated its repayment capacity and concealed the fact that most of the funds were not actually used to purchase vehicles, defrauding victims of their property His individual actions constitute the crime of fundraising fraud. Li and Chen, acting as sales intermediaries, were responsible for posting advertisements on online channels to solicit customers; Xia, acting as a loan assistance, was responsible for coordinating with banks and helping customers process loans, forming a complete criminal chain. However, the three were not employees of the company, did not receive a basic salary and only earned commissions. By providing assistance to the criminal activities, they should be held criminally liable. The prosecutors believed that Li and the other two constituted the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits but because they did not actually control the funds and were unaware of the company's losses, they lacked the subjective intent of illegal possession, and thus were not convicted of fundraising fraud On October 28, 2025, the Minhang District Procuratorate filed a public prosecution, and the court rendered the aforementioned judgment in accordance with the law February 2026. During the handling of the case, Shi, Li, and Xia voluntarily returned the stolen funds, among which Shi returned over 1.32 yuan, Li returned 150,000 yuan, and Xia returned 100,000 yuan, totaling over 1.57 million yuan returned by three. The prosecutors stated that, unlike general cases of illegal absorption of public deposits where victims lose their own funds, the "car purchase and leaseback" model in this case caused to take on bank loans, facing the consequences of repaying loans and interest, and even being listed as dishonest judgment debtors, making the social harm even more severe. The prosecutors reminded public to be wary of investment activities claiming "zero cost, high returns, and no liability," as they are highly likely to be traps behind them. (Outlook New Era)