It happened in Shanghai! Hundreds of old people were trapped, and some aunts lost 220000 yuan. When nine massage shops started this business, many people ran out of savings

The massage shop is packaged as a so-called "health management center", pretending to be an "expert" or a "miracle doctor", creating health anxiety for the elderly, and then tricking the elderly to buy "priceless" essential oil massage treatment courses to commit fraud. Recently, Pudong police successfully destroyed this old fraud gang and arrested 74 people involved.

At the end of 2023, Aunt Wang, who lives in Zhoujiadu District, Pudong, Shanghai, accompanied by her family, walked nervously into Zhoujiadu Police Station of Pudong Branch of Shanghai Public Security Bureau to report that she had met a liar. After some communication, the police learned that Aunt Wang received a leaflet from someone during the process of picking up her children from school, which said, "You can experience foot bath massage for free at the store to make your body healthier".

Aunt Wang is old and has some small problems. She came to this "health management center" with the attitude of trying. More than a year later, Aunt Wang was recommended by the masseur and "experts" in the store, Four times recharge 220000 yuan to buy high price essential oil massage regimen. It was not until recently that Aunt Wang went to the hospital for a physical examination that she found that the so-called essential oil massage had no therapeutic effect.

Another victim, Ms. Tang, is a domestic worker, I spent 200000 yuan in the "Health Management Center" in two years. "At the beginning, I had a foot. Later, the clerk said that they could have a free physical examination. Once I checked, he said that my body was clogged here and there." Under the brainwashing of the masseur and the "expert" in the store, Ms. Tang bought an essential oil massage regimen of nearly 10000 yuan: "They took turns to tell me that if small problems are not cured now, what cancer will be in the future, and more money will be spent on going to the hospital."

In fact, Ms. Tang told the police about her experience not because she found herself cheated, but because the police found her first in the process of handling the case.

At the end of last year, Pudong police launched an investigation after receiving the alarm from Aunt Wang, and found that hundreds of elderly people had been cheated. "Most of the old people didn't realize they were cheated. We found them before we woke up. Most of the old people believed it," said Guo Yanjun, a police officer at the South Wharf Road Police Station of Pudong Public Security Bureau, Many elderly people use their savings for years to buy the high price essential oil pushed by the Health Management Center without telling their children.

The criminal gang claims that the therapeutic apparatus that can detect the toxin in the body is just an ordinary atomizer (picture provided by the police)

The priceless essential oil sold to the cheated old people is inferior (picture provided by the police)

Through return visits and linkage, Pudong police successfully locked a criminal gang led by Xu and Qu who used inferior essential oil to defraud the elderly of their money. At the end of March this year, the special task force was divided into more than ten arrest teams to carry out concentrated arrests in Jiading, Yangpu, Pudong and other places in the city, 74 persons involved in the case were successfully captured, and a large number of physical evidence and documentary evidence such as the essential oil of the crime tools, account books, scripts, customer information were found.

After the suspects arrived at the case, they explained that they had a clear division of labor, and opened nine direct massage stores in the city, specifically distributing advertisements and leaflets for the elderly around supermarkets and schools, and guiding people to the store with free foot baths, massage experience and other "gimmicks". During the experience, the masseur kept working hard and talking constantly, making insinuations about the elderly's economic and physical conditions, exaggerating and fabricating the victim's disease, causing the victim to fear and purchase inferior essential oil at a price nearly 100 times higher. However, these "premium essential oils", which are often priced at tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, are actually inferior products at low prices.

Suspect accepts police investigation (picture provided by the police)

According to the preliminary investigation by the police, since 2022, The gang obtained illegal profits of more than 12 million yuan through this method, and more than 100 victims. At present, 8 suspects involved in the case have been approved for arrest by the procuratorial organ, and the remaining suspects involved have been subject to criminal coercive measures according to law. The case is under further investigation and trial.

Jiefang Daily · Shangguan News original manuscript, reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited

Author: Wu Linhua

Part of the content comes from: the direct train between the police and the people in Shanghai

WeChat editor: Miss Pi

Checked by: Dong Dong Dong