Over 25 cases in over a year, 79 people were scammed! The highest investment is 450000 yuan, to find a relative in the tobacco system | Tobacco Bureau | Tobacco
Recently, education anchor Zhang Xuefeng's comments about wanting to work in the tobacco system "without even the opportunity to take the exam" have flooded the internet. Behind the heated discussion, many people are eager to obtain a stable and high paying job in the tobacco industry, even superstitiously believing in "relationships and energy", so many are also deceived.
Pengpai News found on the China Judgment Document Network that since the beginning of this year, people's courts have ruled on at least 8 cases of spending huge amounts of money to find jobs in the tobacco system and being deceived - parties involved in handling tobacco system work on behalf of clients, spending as little as 50000 or 60000 yuan, and investing as much as 450000 yuan, but in the end, it was all in vain.
Pengpai News roughly counted the referee cases released since 2022 and found that in 25 cases, 79 people were scammed nearly 135000 yuan per person to obtain a job in the tobacco system. Some of these cases are criminal fraud cases, while the majority are civil cases.
It is worth mentioning that when the victim places their hope of finding a job on "relationships and energy," some courts reject the original petition by stating that the people's court does not support such behavior. The court believes that the plaintiff failed to comply with the normal employment order, disrupted the normal fair competition order, and damaged the public interest, and does not support their claim for compensation.
Gushi Police's WeChat official account map of job hunting fraud case investigated by Gushi Police
Some people claim to have 300000 yuan arranged for the tobacco bureau, while others are willing to bid 450000 yuan
On March 18th this year, the Criminal Investigation Brigade of Gushi County Public Security Bureau in Henan Province reported a case. Chen and Liu met during the postgraduate entrance examination training class. From July to November 2022, Chen defrauded Liu of more than 330000 yuan on the grounds that he could help arrange for him and his brother to work at a tobacco bureau and CCTV in a certain district of Beijing, while also transferring his household registration to Beijing. On March 5th, the police arrested Chen and subsequently took criminal coercive measures.
According to the precedents released by the China Judgment Document Network, in the past two years, many people have fallen into the trap of "spending money to work in the tobacco system" every year.
According to these published precedents, the people's courts have ruled on at least 8 disputes this year that involved investing heavily in finding work in the tobacco system but were unsuccessful. Five of them occurred in Liaoning, two in Jilin, and one in Shaanxi.
In these 8 cases, some signed employment contracts with human resources or consulting companies in order to enter the tobacco bureau but failed. For example, the Chuanying District Court in Jilin City, Jilin Province ruled on two related commission contract disputes in April this year. Zhang, born in 1996, and Gao, born in 1997, both signed an Employment Security Agreement with Jilin Zhixin Human Resources Co., Ltd. in October 2020, agreeing that the company would arrange for them to work at Jilin Tobacco Bureau. Therefore, the two individuals respectively transferred 95000 yuan and 85000 yuan to the legal representative of the company, Tao Xiaoyan. However, as of the time of their lawsuit in 2023, neither plaintiff had been assigned to work at the tobacco bureau, so they filed a lawsuit in court.
Another situation is that through acquaintances, friends, and even WeChat Moments, people may believe in advertisements saying "you can apply to work at the tobacco bureau, but if you can't apply for a refund or interest refund," but as a result, the work is not completed and the money is not refunded.
In the case ruled by the Liaohe Court in Panjin City, Liaoning Province, the plaintiff Xie was born in 1995, and his father heard from his classmate's neighbor and defendant Zhang that he could arrange work for the National Tobacco Administration, but it would require 350000 yuan. Xie Mu withdrew 350000 yuan from the bank and handed it over to Zhang. For this, the other party also issued a receipt: "I received a cash payment of 300000 yuan, three hundred thousand yuan in total, from Mr. Xie to handle tobacco. I signed the contract at the end of October, but cannot process a full refund." However, after the 2022 Spring Festival, Mr. Xie was informed that the work could not be completed, but Mr. Zhang only refunded 40000 yuan.
In these cases, the person who paid the most for a tobacco system job was 450000 yuan.
In a case ruled by the Huanggu District Court in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, from 2021 to 2022, Zhang promised to arrange work for central enterprises such as State Grid for the person designated by Xue, and collected a total of 1.31 million yuan from Xue. However, Zhang's promise was not fulfilled and 1.15 million yuan was not returned.
On February 1, 2023, Liu, an outsider, issued a "Witness Testimony" to the court, stating that in order to assist his nephew Wang in handling tobacco bureau work, he found Zhang through Xue. On April 10, 2021 and April 16, 2021, he and Wang respectively transferred a total of 450000 yuan to Xue.
Pengpai News found that the tricks used to introduce the work of the Tobacco Bureau are not uncommon, with over 200 relevant judgment documents in the past five years. Pengpai News only counted cases that have been pronounced and made public since 2022, and found a total of 25 cases involving 79 victims of fraud, with a total amount of over 10.72 million yuan, and an average of 135000 yuan per person being scammed. These cases are mainly distributed as follows: 12 in Liaoning, 4 in Jiangsu, 3 in Shaanxi, 2 in Jilin, 2 in Henan, 1 in Shandong, and 1 in Shanghai.
Statistics on Disputes Caused by Deception in Finding a Job at a Tobacco Company
A sentence "The tobacco bureau has connections" deceived 55 people
Among these 25 cases, 3 were listed as fraud crimes and criminally pursued. In the Huzhiye fraud case ruled by the Luyi County Court in Henan Province, the defendant defrauded over 6.79 million yuan on the grounds of arranging work for the tobacco bureau, and 55 people were deceived.
According to the judgment of the Luyi County Court, the largest fraud amount in the Hu Zhiye case was 1.433 million yuan, involving 8 victims. The victim of the case, Jia, stated that in 2013, Hu Zhiye claimed that he could arrange for his son Wang to work at the Zhengzhou Tobacco Factory, but he would need to spend money to get involved. Jia gave Hu Zhiye 195000 yuan. In 2014, Hu Zhiye said that Zhengzhou Tobacco Factory and Xuchang Tobacco Factory had internal indicators, and Jia asked him to arrange for his niece Zhao, niece Liu, and niece Zhou. Hu Zhiye charged 160000 yuan, 300000 yuan, and 130000 yuan respectively. In June 2015, Hu Zhiye announced that he could transfer Jia's son to the Tobacco Bureau of Luohe City. Jia gave Hu Zhiye another 100000 yuan. In January 2016, before the matter could be completed, Jia remitted another 20000 yuan to Hu Zhiye. In October 2015, Hu Zhiye defrauded two relatives of Jia's colleague Chen, Ma and Yan, of 270000 yuan by arranging work at the Luohe Cigarette Factory. At the end of 2016, Hu Zhiye defrauded 260000 yuan by arranging a cigarette factory in Luohe City and a cigarette factory in Anyang City for two relatives of Jia's classmate Yang, Yang, and Liu.
Similar situations of "whole family being deceived" are not uncommon in the Hu Zhiye case. For example, Li, who was deceived for over 400000 yuan. Li claimed that Hu Zhiye is familiar with the leaders of Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau and can arrange personnel to work at the bureau. Each quota requires 100000 yuan. Li worked for his son, daughter-in-law, and nephew before and after, and gradually handed over more than 400000 yuan to Hu Zhiye.
However, some of the scammers discovered that Hu Zhiye's so-called "five insurances and one fund, worker quotas, and contract preparation" internal recruitment was actually just a tobacco company recruiting labor personnel from the society through third-party security companies.
The victim Zhang confirmed that on July 15, 2016, Hu Zhiye took him to the Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau to sign a security recruitment contract. Afterwards, he worked in the Xingyang Tobacco Inspection Team with a salary of 2500 yuan. And his father gave Hu Zhiye a total of 160000 yuan.
Some victims also found that this "tobacco bureau job" was like a bottomless pit. In February 2017, Hu Zhiye defrauded Gao of 356000 yuan by arranging for Jiang, Ma, and Tu to work at the Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau. During the work arrangement period, Hu Zhiye deceived Jiang, Ma, and Tu into obtaining 53000, 63500, and 30000 yuan, respectively, on the grounds of managing relationships, obtaining inspection certificates, obtaining registration certificates, giving gifts, treating people to meals, taking exams, and adjusting their work.
More victims have found that after paying hundreds of thousands of yuan, their jobs at the tobacco bureau have not been secured for several years, but what they finally receive is news of being caught in Huzhiye fraud.
In May 2017, Hu Zhiye cheated for the last time. The victim introduced that their comrade's daughter had passed the written test for the Luohe Tobacco Factory. In order to ensure the safety of the interview, they asked someone to inquire if they knew someone from the Henan Provincial Tobacco Bureau. After finding Huzhiye, it collected 84000 yuan and 8 soft Chinese cigarettes. Finally, the matter was not completed.
Multiple judicial documents show that the Hu Zhiye case has gone through two judgments in total. In 2018, the Luyi County Court ruled that Hu Zhiye had defrauded 3.579 million yuan on the grounds of arranging work and obtaining a driver's license, and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. However, as the case was about to be sentenced, the public security organs added new evidence, stating that Hu Zhiye still had omissions in charges. On January 18, 2022, the court of Luyi County sentenced Hu Zhiye again and found out that he defrauded the victim of a total of 3.8281 million yuan for arranging work, undertaking vehicle maintenance rights, and purchasing vehicle transportation, and the victim Xing Moutai had 8 pieces of Baijiu, 20 pieces of soft China cigarettes, and the victim Zhang had 8 pieces of soft China cigarettes. In the end, the court sentenced Hu Zhiye to 18 years in prison.
Pengpai News found that in the two judgments of the Hu Zhiye case, more than 6.69 million yuan was defrauded on the grounds of arranging work for the tobacco bureau, and 55 people were deceived.
Believe in relationships and energy? Court: Disrupting the Normal Order of Fair Competition
How do the victims believe that they can get a job at the tobacco bureau for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars?
Pengpai News sorted out 25 cases and found that many victims mentioned two key words: relationship and energy.
For example, in the Hu Zhiye case, the victim Li claimed to have met Hu Zhiye through a friend. Hu Zhiye said that he had a good relationship with Deng, the Chairman of the Luohe Municipal Political Consultative Conference, and could provide him with a project. Hu also led him to Deng's office and had lunch together. Through this incident, "I feel like he has more energy.". After one or two months, Hu Zhiye said he was familiar with the leaders of Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau and could arrange personnel to work at the bureau. He gradually handed over more than 400000 yuan to Hu Zhiye to arrange the work of his son, daughter-in-law, and nephew.
Almost all the victims mentioned that Hu Zhiye told them that the tobacco bureau directors of Luohe City and Zhengzhou City were his cousins, so they believed that he could arrange work through relationships.
Xing, who was deceived for 426900 yuan, introduced that in 2014 he heard from Hu Zhiye that his relative Li was the director of the Luohe Tobacco Bureau and had an internal official employee quota, so he transferred 150000 yuan to him to handle his son's job. In 2015, Hu Zhiye claimed that Li was transferred to Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau as the director, and he gave him an additional 30000 yuan. In December 2016, Hu Zhiye also claimed that Li was transferred to Henan Tobacco Company as the director of the sales department, and he gave him 150000 yuan to arrange work at Henan Tobacco Research Institute. During this time, 8 pieces of Maojiu and 20 soft packs of Chinese cigarettes were also given to Huzhiye.
In the judgment, Li, a relative claimed by Hu Zhiye, testified that during his tenure as the director of the Luohe Tobacco Bureau, Hu Zhiye went to the office to find him and asked if one of his relatives had graduated from university and could be arranged to work at the tobacco bureau. Later, he was transferred to work at the Zhengzhou Tobacco Bureau, and Hu Zhiye came to him to ask if he could arrange for his child to become an inspection team member. It asked the inspection team leader Sun to come over, and Sun said that due to insufficient personnel recruitment, there is no restriction on the urban area of Zhengzhou. After hearing this sentence, Hu Zhiye introduced some people to apply for positions as tobacco inspection team members.
And the testimony of another witness, Yue, shows that he is Hu Zhiye's old cousin, and Li is his friend. Yue mentioned the "economic exchange" between Li and Hu Zhiye - Li returned 40000 yuan in cash to Hu Zhiye because he couldn't contact him. Li claimed that the money was sent to his home by Hu Zhiye, but he was not at home at the time. When he returned, he couldn't contact Hu Zhiye. The judgment does not show that Li has been pursued.
Pengpai News has noticed that in the criminal case of being deceived in finding a job at the tobacco bureau, the court has ruled that the defendant will refund the illegal gains to each victim. However, in civil cases, not all refund requests from victims are supported.
In a case ruled by the Yunlong District Court in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, when the plaintiff was seeking 450000 yuan for the introduction of work funds, the defendant Wu Zhenzhen spoke confidently, "The purpose of the entrusted matters involved in the case is to find people with connections and energy through the defendant, and to arrange work positions with government agencies and institutions for them. Therefore, their payment behavior is essentially to use human connections to achieve their own illegitimate interests. This behavior seriously violates social public order and good customs, disrupts and challenges the fairness, impartiality, and openness of China's recruitment system for government agency and institution personnel, and violates the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations. As the positions involved are all related to social public interests, their behavior also seriously damages the social fair competition order and the public." Due to their interests, their entrusted behavior and payment behavior should be deemed invalid according to law. Claims arising from such invalid behavior also have illegality and unfairness and should not be protected by law
The court adopted the defendant's viewpoint in the first instance and rejected the plaintiff's lawsuit request.
In addition, in the two judgments of the Chuanying District Court in Jilin City, Jilin Province mentioned above, the court believes that "the plaintiff found connections through abnormal channels to help them find jobs, and the purpose of paying money is illegal, which violates social morality, disrupts the normal fair competition order, and harms the public interest. The money involved in the case is paid based on illegal reasons, and the debt generated by illegal behavior is a debt of illegal reasons. If the money involved is returned through civil litigation, it will encourage and promote such bad habits and illegal behavior, and it is also contrary to the core values of socialism. Therefore, the debt of illegal reasons is not protected by law, and this case is not within the scope of civil litigation accepted by the people's court."
In a similar case ruled by the Weishi County Court in Henan Province, the court also rejected the plaintiff's request on the grounds that "the plaintiff did not follow the normal employment order, violated public order and good customs, and should not be protected by law.".
