Yangcheng Evening News reporter Zhang Luyao, correspondent Zou Bang and Zhang Yitao reported that a film group company in Guangdong took advantage of the stunt that the film market is expanding rapidly and the company’s main business prospects are boundless, and engaged in illegal fund-raising activities in many places in the name of crowdfunding movies. In just a few months, it attracted more than 2,000 investors, involving more than 200 million yuan. Recently, the Economic Investigation Detachment of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau took action against the film group company engaged in illegal fund-raising activities in Guangzhou in the "Hurricane 2016" special action, and arrested it in Jingmen City and Panyu District of Hubei Province, bringing back seven people involved.
The reporter noticed that the company’s billboard claimed that the group has film companies, investment companies, entertainment planning companies, network technology companies, cultural media companies and even art training schools.
According to the police handling the case, the company promised that investors can get a dividend return of 3% of the investment amount every week (with a term of 2 years), and they can get a bonus of 0.9% of the investment amount directly recommended or indirectly recommended by the next investor every week.
They also absorbed investment funds from the public in Guangzhou, Dongguan, Beijing and other places by holding investment film publicity meetings, that is, the so-called crowdfunding investment in filming, with investment levels ranging from 50,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan. Through this viral promotion model similar to pyramid schemes, illegal fund-raising activities were carried out.
After the capital chain paying huge interest was unsustainable, the company continued to illegally solicit capital by means of equity investment (investment to obtain the company’s equity and guarantee the annual interest of 18%).
According to preliminary statistics, as of the time of the incident, the company has absorbed more than 2,000 investors, involving more than 200 million yuan.
The main suspect in the case confessed that 60% of the funds illegally absorbed by the company were used to pay huge interest, and the few main business investments that were really used for film and television drama shooting have not paid a penny back so far.