China executes family behind empire that duped international internet users into fake romances and crypto rip-offs
Mike Gallagher
BEIJING — China executed 11 members of a Myanmar-linked criminal syndicate Thursday for their roles in large-scale fraud operations that lured victims into fake online romances, state media reported.
The Wenzhou Intermediate People’s Court in eastern China sentenced the defendants to death in September. The Supreme People’s Court upheld the sentences before the executions were carried out, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
China has executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including 'key members' of telecom scam operations (pictured, some of the crime family at their sentencing in October at the Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court in eastern China's Zhejiang Province)
Authorities said the group, known locally as the “Ming family criminal organization,” orchestrated sprawling scam operations in remote border regions of Myanmar. There, criminal compounds allegedly used social media and messaging apps to cultivate online relationships with victims, then convinced them to invest in bogus cryptocurrency and other financial schemes.
Chinese officials accused those executed of a range of crimes, including intentional homicide, serious injury, unlawful detention, fraud and running illegal casinos. State media said the group’s activities contributed to the deaths of at least 14 Chinese citizens and caused injuries to others.
Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) shows computers, smartphones and other equipment seized during a raid on a scam centre in Kandal province. Picture: Pool/ AFP)
Beijing has intensified its crackdown on transnational fraud operations in recent years, stepping up cooperation with Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia to dismantle scam centers and repatriate suspects. Thousands of people have been returned to China to face prosecution, state authorities said.
February 23, 2025 alleged scam centre workers and victims rest during a crackdown operation by the Karen Border Guard Force (BGF) on illicit activity, at the border checkpoint with Thailand in Myanmar's eastern Myawaddy township. Picture: AFP
Alleged scam centre workers and victims from China arrive at the border checkpoint with Thailand in Myanmar's eastern Myawaddy township in early 2025. Picture: AFP
Online romance and investment scams, sometimes referred to as “pig-butchering” fraud, have proliferated across Southeast Asia, with criminals exploiting digital platforms to target victims worldwide. Many of the scam compounds are also linked to human trafficking, with workers recruited under false pretenses or forced to participate in illegal activity.
