ChainCatcher news, article from the official WeChat account of the Intermediate People's Court of Jinchang City. Recently, the Yongchang Court in Gansu, China, ruled on two cases involving telecom fraud, sentencing ten defendants to prison terms ranging from ten months to one year for the crime of assisting in information network criminal activities, and recovering illegal gains of over 1.19 million yuan.According to reports, since 2022, a certain Shen has illegally profited by raising funds to purchase computers, IoT cards, and other equipment, recruiting Li, Chen, and four others to join, and additionally recruiting more than ten people to successively rent houses in Hefei, Anhui, to establish a USDT (Tether) trading studio. They formed illegal over-the-counter trading groups through the Telegram app, buying low and selling high for profit. During this period, the five repeatedly took risks, knowingly helping telecom fraudsters settle payments between Tether and RMB at "high exchange rates," despite being aware that the U coins they received originated from online gambling and telecom fraud. Meanwhile, Shen also contacted downstream "coin traders" like Li to settle payments through methods designated by upstream criminals, using Alipay, WeChat transfers, and cash deposits. By the time the case was reported, the defendants had profited over 880,000 yuan, with more than ten victims, including residents like Meng from Chengguan Town in Yongchang County, losing over 5.9 million yuan while participating in virtual currency investments and online order brushing, with the funds all transferred to accounts related to Tether trading used by Shen and others.The court held that in this case, Shen and others used virtual currency trading activities to assist telecom network fraudsters in transferring funds, which has moved beyond mere virtual currency operations. Such behavior should be included as a key link in the comprehensive crackdown on telecom network fraud and illegal criminal activities, and the involved criminals should be punished.

ChainCatcher news, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security have launched the third batch of 5 major cross-border telecom network fraud cases for joint supervision and handling. Among them, the '9.06' telecom network fraud case in Putian, Fujian has been confirmed to involve an amount of over 30 million yuan, with more than 150 members in the gang. This criminal group has a clear hierarchical structure and defined roles, implementing fraud through online dating and inducing investment in virtual currencies. The public security organs have arrested more than 30 individuals.