On July 26, Red Star News learned from the Gongjing Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Zigong City, Sichuan Province that the previous high-profile "Youwo Health" case had been pronounced, and 16 defendants were sentenced and fined for the crime of false advertising.
It is reported that the case is the highest value of false advertising cases involving the sale of health care products cracked by the Gongjing Branch in recent years, and it has successfully smashed a gang that uses Henan as a base, radiates 18 provinces and cities across the country, and sells health care products through false advertising, arrests 45 criminal suspects, destroys 11 dens, and seizes more than 10,000 health care products involved in the case, involving an amount of more than 200 million yuan.
Police arrested some of the suspects Courtesy of Gongjing Public Security
Surprise Inspections:
Advertise that health products can cure diseases, and the price is much higher than the market
In July 2022, the Gongjing Public Security Bureau found in the process of a joint inspection with the Gongjing District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau that a health care experience store selling "Xiong Yitang Bear Bile Powder" stored a large number of health care products named "Xiong Yitang Bear Bile Powder", Keming SOD, Sea Buckthorn Crystal Powder, and Yi Body Safflower Rhodiola Rosea, and advertised that it had amazing effects on the treatment of hypertension, cancer, pneumonia and other diseases, and the sales unit price was significantly higher than the price of ordinary health care products on the market.
The investigators also found that the store lured the elderly to the designated store to participate in the health lecture promotion meeting by receiving gifts for free, advocating the company's strong strength and high reputation, using the comparison before and after taking it as an example to promote the "miraculous effect" of health care products, and using "treatment" and "medical care" as a gimmick to win the attention of the elderly, so that the middle-aged and elderly people with underlying diseases pay for "health".
Courtesy of Gongjing Public Security
After further investigation, the health care products company named "Youwo Health" is headquartered in Henan Province, with more than 20 stores in Zigong, and the sales objects are mainly the elderly.
Through the verification of personnel and goods, the investigators believed that the store was suspected of false advertising, and immediately filed a case for investigation.
Cluster Strike:
The funds involved in the case exceeded 200 million yuan, and 16 people were sentenced and fined
According to the police handling the case, after investigation, from September 2021 to August 2022, the criminal suspect Qiao and others established Henan "Youwo" Group Co., Ltd., fabricated the identity of lecturers, through the broadcast of health videos and the efficacy of fictitious products, and through the "training" of the store manager, so that the middle-aged and elderly people mistakenly believed that their health care products were "panacea", and adopted membership and bundled sales, false price reductions, etc., to trick the middle-aged and elderly to buy products at inflated prices. More than 300 stores involved in the case are located in 18 provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) such as Guangxi, Chongqing, and Sichuan, involving more than 400 suspects from "area managers" and offline stores across the country, and most of the victims are middle-aged and elderly groups, including more than 80 victims in Zigong area, involving more than 460,000 yuan.
On August 17, 2022, the Ministry of Public Security launched a cluster campaign, and the task force unified the network in 18 provinces (municipalities directly under the central government) across the country. Gongjing police arrested a total of 45 criminal suspects such as Qiao, Zhou, and Li in Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and other places, froze a total of more than 400 yuan of funds involved in the case, destroyed 11 dens such as warehouses, offices, and stores, seized more than 50 computers and more than 40 mobile phones involved in the case, and seized more than 10,000 pieces of health care products involved in the case, such as safflower sedum, SOD, bear bile powder, and sea buckthorn, successfully destroying criminal gangs and realizing a "whole chain" crackdown.
The police arrested some suspects in the field Courtesy of Gongjing Public Security
On January 19 this year, the Gongjing District People's Court held a trial of the case and made a judgment on 16 people including Qiao, among which the main suspects Qiao, Zhou, Huang, Li and others were sentenced to 2 years in prison and fined 400,000 yuan to 1 year and 5 months and fined 100,000 yuan for committing the crime of false advertising, and other people in the same case were also investigated for legal responsibility.
In addition, according to the results of the investigation, the Gongjing police transferred 16 people including Li Moumou to the Gongjing District Market Supervision Department for administrative punishment.
On June 5 this year, a co-defendant who was responsible for making false propaganda products and absconded abroad surrendered to the police and confessed to his criminal acts. At present, the investigation of the case and the work of supplementing the prosecution are proceeding in an orderly manner.
Source: Red Star News