How many years will pyramid schemes be convicted and sentenced?

There is no clear standard for determining the amount. According to the fraudulent means, the property defrauded, the number of people involved in pyramid schemes, etc., the specific number of years sentenced depends on the circumstances.

According to the opinions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Court on several issues concerning the application of law in handling criminal cases of organizing and leading MLM activities,

Three, on the identification of "defrauding property"

Organizers and leaders of pyramid selling activities fabricate and distort national policies, fabricate and exaggerate business, investment, service items and profit prospects, cover up the true sources of remuneration and kickbacks or adopt other fraudulent means to commit the acts specified in Article 224-1 of the Criminal Law.

Whoever illegally gains from the expenses paid by the personnel involved in pyramid selling activities or the expenses for purchasing goods and services shall be deemed as defrauding property. Whether the personnel involved in pyramid schemes think that they have been cheated does not affect the identification of fraudulent property.

Four, on the determination of "serious circumstances"

Organizers and leaders of MLM organizations that meet the requirements of the first paragraph of Article 1 of this opinion shall be deemed as "serious circumstances" as stipulated in Article 224 of the Criminal Law in any of the following circumstances:

(a) there are more than one hundred and twenty people organizing and leading pyramid selling activities;

(2) Directly or indirectly collecting pyramid selling funds paid by personnel involved in pyramid selling activities, with a cumulative amount of more than 2.5 million yuan;

(3) Having received criminal punishment for organizing and leading pyramid schemes, or having received administrative punishment for organizing and leading pyramid schemes within one year, and directly or indirectly developing others to participate in pyramid schemes, with more than 60 people;

(four) causing serious consequences such as mental disorder and suicide of the personnel involved in pyramid schemes;

(5) Causing other serious consequences or adverse social impact.

According to criminal law

Article 224 Crime of contract fraud; The crime of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities has one of the following circumstances. For the purpose of illegal possession, in the process of signing and performing a contract, if the amount is relatively large, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also or only be fined.

If the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years and shall also be fined; If the amount is especially huge or there are other especially serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or confiscated:

(1) Signing a contract in the name of a fictitious unit or others;

(2) Mortgaging with forged, altered or invalid bills or other false property rights certificates;

(three) to perform a small contract or part of the contract first, to deceive the other party to continue to sign and perform the contract, and to have no actual performance ability;

(4) After receiving the payment for goods, advance payment or secured property paid by the other party;

(5) defrauding the other party's property by other means.

Article 224-1 In the name of business activities such as selling goods and providing services, organizations and leaders require participants to obtain membership by paying fees or purchasing goods and services, and form a hierarchy in a certain order, with the number of development personnel as the basis for directly or indirectly obtaining remuneration or kickbacks.

Whoever lures or coerces participants to continue to develop others to participate in pyramid schemes, defrauds property and undermines economic and social order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined; If the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and fined.

Extended data

According to the MLM Prohibition Ordinance

Article 7? The following acts belong to pyramid schemes:

(1) The organizer or operator, through the development of personnel, requires the developed personnel to develop other personnel to join, and calculates and pays remuneration (including material rewards and other economic benefits, the same below) to the developed personnel based on the number of personnel directly or indirectly developed, so as to seek illegal benefits;

(2) The organizer or business operator, through the development personnel, requires the developed personnel to pay the fees or pay the fees in disguised form by subscribing for commodities, etc. , so as to obtain the qualification to join or develop other personnel to join and seek illegal interests;

(3) The organizer or business operator requires the developed personnel to develop other personnel to join, thus forming an online relationship, and calculating and paying online rewards according to the sales performance of offline personnel to seek illegal benefits.

Article 24? Whoever commits the acts specified in Article 7 of these Regulations and organizes pyramid schemes shall be confiscated by the administrative department for industry and commerce, and shall be fined not less than 500,000 yuan but not more than 2 million yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Whoever commits the acts specified in Article 7 of these regulations, introduces, lures or coerces others to participate in pyramid schemes, shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts, confiscate the illegal property and illegal income, and impose a fine of more than 654.38 million yuan and less than 500,000 yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Anyone who participates in pyramid schemes in the acts listed in Article 7 of these regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts and may be fined up to 2000 yuan.

References:

Wen county Public Security Bureau Network-Criminal Law

References:

The Supreme People's Court Net-"Opinions of the Supreme People's Court, Ministry of Public Security of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in Handling Criminal Cases of Organizing and Leading MLM Activities"