Chinese influencer arrested for faking single father story to gain followers
Beijing: A Chinese influencer, operating under the handle @qianyibaobei on Douyin, has been arrested for fabricating a heart-wrenching story about being a single father delivering food with his young daughter. The influencer, who amassed over 400,000 followers, claimed that the child's mother had abandoned them, using this narrative to garner sympathy and profit through live-stream sales.
Authorities revealed that the man, who posted over 100 videos portraying his struggles, was neither a single father nor a delivery worker. The child's mother reportedly lives happily with the family. Police charged him with disturbing public order, imposing a fine of 500 yuan ($70) and up to 10 days of detention.
Earlier this year, another content creator, @Liangshanmengyang, was jailed for 11 months for falsely claiming to live in poverty while caring for her siblings.
Investigations have also uncovered a network of companies promoting fake content for profit, with one owner sentenced to 14 months in prison for selling fraudulent products.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
