BlockBeats news, on November 1, the Shaanxi Higher People's Court of China released a typical case of illegal public deposit collection through a self-built cryptocurrency trading platform. In June 2019, defendants Shi and Zhu set up an office in the Wealth Center of High-tech Zone in Xi'an under the name of Shaanxi Silk Road Starting Point Network Technology Co., Ltd. They falsely represented themselves as Zhongtou Shanqian Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., using their self-built BRTR platform to issue and trade USDT, QC, and BRTR currencies. They held promotional meetings in Xi'an, Chengdu, Yichang, Linyi, and other places, boasting about their company's strength and fabricating investments in cryptocurrency. They lured the public to invest by promising capital preservation with high interest rates and the right to use luxury cars. According to the audit, as of the occurrence of the case, a total of 114 participants reported their cases, with a total fundraising amount of over 6.34 million yuan, of which over 5.16 million yuan has been returned.
The court held that defendants Shi and Zhu violated national financial management laws and regulations, effectively soliciting funds from the public, disrupting financial order, and constituted the crime of illegal public deposit collection. Both defendants Shi and Zhu were sentenced to four years in prison for the crime of illegal public deposit collection and fined.