Sell at another 60% discount? "Cabinet Sister" scammed 20 million yuan by buying and selling at a loss, buying luxury goods at the original price | Li | Luxury goods
Li, who once worked as a cabinet lady for a well-known luxury brand, claimed that she could buy various brands of luxury goods at a price of 60-80% off. Knowing that there was no source of goods, she used the method of buying high and selling low to gain the trust of the victim. After collecting a large amount of payment from the victim, she fabricated various reasons to shift the delivery time, but in fact, she squandered the payment. Recently, the People's Procuratorate of Jing'an District, Shanghai, disclosed this fraud case.
In October 2019, Li worked as a salesperson for a well-known luxury brand in a shopping mall in Shanghai. During her work, she met Ms. Shi. Li told Ms. Shi that she has a special channel in China where she can buy luxury goods from various brands at large discounts. The two sides quickly exchanged WeChat messages, and Ms. Shi sent pictures of the luxury goods she wanted to buy to Ms. Li. Ms. Li charged Ms. Shi a 60% discount on the market price. Sometimes, Li would also take the initiative to send Ms. Shi some products that are currently on sale. In November of the same year, Ms. Yu also learned that her boyfriend's brother's ex-wife, Li, was doing luxury goods purchasing. Later, she also purchased branded products from Li multiple times through WeChat at a large discount.
The previous transactions were very smooth, and Ms. Shi, Ms. Yu, and others did indeed buy genuine luxury goods from Mr. Li at a lower price. Li even took the initiative to negotiate discounts with some luxury goods salespeople with Ms. Yu, showing them the "invitation letter" of the luxury goods show. Over time, Li and Ms. Shi and others established a strong trust relationship. At this time, Ms. Shi and others were unaware that Li did not actually have any special domestic channels. She mainly earned the price difference through overseas purchasing agents in Europe, buying at a price of 5.7% off and selling at a 60% off.
If there were no epidemic, Li's business could have continued. But after 2020, Li lost his purchasing channels in Europe. In order to maintain her existing customers, despite knowing that there was no source of goods, she continued to spread false information about the source of goods on her social media and collected payment at the previously agreed price. Several customers transferred tens of millions of yuan to Li one after another. After receiving the money, Li delayed the shipment due to various reasons such as physical discomfort and hospitalization. Some customers were in a hurry, so Li went to major shopping malls to purchase goods at the original price and then sold them at a low price to gain trust.
This method of robbing Peter to pay Paul is obviously not sustainable for too long. Ms. Shi transferred tens of millions of yuan to Mr. Li, but failed to receive the goods for a long time. She reported the case to the public security organs, and several victims also reported the case to the police.
The prosecutor in charge carefully reviewed the audit report and compared Li's consumption records at luxury counters in various shopping malls with his transfer records with the victims. Finally, it was confirmed that apart from the value of the goods purchased and delivered by Li through the counter, as well as the refund of the payment to each victim, Li still owed more than 20 million yuan to multiple victims as of the incident. In addition, in August 2019, Li was sentenced to 3 years in prison with a 5-year probation for fraud. At the time of the incident, she was still in the probation period.
The prosecutor believes that Li defrauded others of a particularly large amount of money, with clear criminal facts and sufficient evidence, and should be held criminally responsible for the crime of fraud. Recently, the Jing'an District Court sentenced Li to 13 years in prison and fined him 500000 yuan for committing fraud; Considering that Li committed a new crime during the probation period, the probation was revoked and he was punished for several crimes. He was sentenced to 14 and a half years in prison and fined 540000 yuan.
