A foreign student was sentenced to 3 years in prison and fined RMB 34,000 for withdrawing over RMB 300,000 linked to telecom fraud. The case highlights how quick-money job offers can lead to serious criminal consequences for young foreigners in China.
Tags:Source: OT-Team(G), 检察日报
A “quick and easy” job changed L’s life. After helping withdraw more than RMB 300,000 linked to telecom fraud, the young foreign national found himself facing prison—and wondering whether he could still go to university.
“Can I still go to university?”
That was the first question asked by L, a young national of Country A, when he was questioned in connection with a criminal case. He had just completed his final year of high school and was looking forward to starting university. But a seemingly ordinary party set him on a very different path.
The case was recently recounted by a prosecutor involved in handling it, highlighting how an apparently easy way to make money can lead to serious criminal consequences.
A “Quick and Easy” Job
At the party, someone approached the inexperienced young man with an offer that sounded hard to refuse: help collect cash for others, with food and accommodation provided and payment based on the amount collected. He was told he could easily make more than RMB 10,000.
Tempted by the prospect of quick money, L agreed.
Following instructions, he traveled to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province, among other places, to withdraw and transfer funds connected to telecom and online fraud. In total, he helped withdraw more than RMB 300,000 in cash.
He eventually arrived in Chengdu.
There, L went to an agreed meeting point and encountered a man identified as Wang, who had been contacted online by someone claiming to offer investment opportunities.
Wang brought RMB 500,000 in cash to the meeting. After exchanging a prearranged code with L, he handed over the money.
To prevent L from keeping the cash for himself, the people behind the scheme had secretly arranged for three others to monitor the transaction.
But the situation suddenly took an unexpected turn.
The three men posed as police officers and forcibly took the money on the spot.
Caught off guard, L was left struggling to explain what had happened to the people who had sent him.
Meanwhile, Wang, who had lost his money, reported the incident to police and described how he had been targeted in an investment scam.
As investigators followed the leads, they found that L had been moving between provinces in an unusual pattern and had repeatedly been involved in withdrawing large amounts of cash. He was subsequently placed under criminal measures in accordance with the law.
“Can I Still Go to University?”
Throughout the case, L maintained a cooperative attitude and truthfully confessed to his criminal conduct.
But there was one thing that worried him most: that the sentence would end his hopes of going to university.
After considering the facts and circumstances of the case as well as applicable sentencing guidelines, prosecutors told L that he could face more than three years in prison.
The news left him devastated.
To help him understand why his actions had crossed the legal line, prosecutors pointed out that a job requiring little physical or intellectual effort, offering more than RMB 10,000 simply for handling cash, while also covering food and accommodation, should itself have raised serious concerns.
He was then informed about relevant Chinese laws and judicial policies, including the country's current tough stance toward telecom and online fraud.
L fell silent for a long time.
Eventually, he admitted in a low voice that he had believed he was merely taking advantage of an easy opportunity to make money and had not realized that his actions constituted a crime.
He expressed genuine remorse and acknowledged that he had made a serious mistake.
A Sentence, and a Second Chance
The prosecutor said the case also served as a reminder that handling a criminal case requires not only upholding the law, but also helping those involved understand the consequences of their actions and learn from their mistakes.
L was encouraged to sincerely reflect on what he had done and treat the experience as a lesson for the future.
In February this year, after a court hearing, L was convicted of the crime of concealing or disguising the proceeds of crime. He was sentenced to three years in prison and fined RMB 34,000.
For a young man who had only just finished high school, what initially appeared to be an easy way to make some quick money ultimately carried consequences that could reshape the course of his life.