"Appraiser Expert" Unqualified "Auction" Arrangement Will Entrust
Collectibles Scam Routine Exposure
Collectibles such as calligraphy and painting, antiques, coins, stamps, etc. are widely sought after by investors because of their appreciation space and artistic value, and criminal crimes related to the collections have arisen accordingly.
On November 12, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily learned from the press briefing on criminal cases involving collections held by Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court that most of these cases are targeted at middle-aged and elderly people, and corporate operations have become the norm.
Corporate operation becomes normal
Xin Shangmin, vice president of the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People's Court, said that from 2017 to 2020, the No. 3 Intermediate People's Court and courts in its jurisdiction have concluded 66 criminal cases of first instance involving collections. Such cases mainly involve fraud, illegal absorption of public deposits, contract fraud, The crime of fundraising fraud and other crimes, corporate operation has become the norm for such crimes.
In order to gain the trust of the victim, the defendant deliberately leased office space in a well-known business district to carry out promotional activities, contract signing, and money collection in the name of a specialized company.
Some companies are also openly recruiting salespersons on job-hunting websites, and conduct unified speech skills training within the company. The scale, influence, and success rate of criminal acts are much higher than those of individuals committing crimes.
80% of the victims are middle-aged and elderly people
According to the survey conducted by the Beijing Third Intermediate Court, the collection scam can be divided into four main types: "trade low for high", which means that cheap handicrafts are packaged in exchange for high-priced collectibles in the victim's hands; "repurchase at high prices", that is, false promises to return to the collection at high prices To defraud the victim’s purchase money; “regular rebate”, that is, in the name of investment collections, sales share, etc., to promote the guaranteed capital rebate to defraud the victim’s investment money; “for auction”, that is, to hold auctions, trade fairs, etc. Appraisal fees, exhibition fees, auction pre-charges (ie, base bid fees), admission deposits, negotiation fees, etc. were fraudulently obtained on their behalf, and false auctions were not actually held or held, resulting in unsuccessful collections.
The Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court found that the defendant consciously chose the elderly as the target. About 80% of the victims were middle-aged and elderly people over 55 years old. More than half of the victims involved elderly people over 70 years old. Some victims were even cheated to buy collections in a company. Later, he was deceived and commissioned an auction by another company, and was repeatedly deceived by upstream and downstream companies in the collection industry.
"Appraisal Experts" have no appraisal qualifications
From October 2018 to June 2019, more than 20 people such as Guo contacted customers by telephone through a number of collection companies, fabricated exhibitions, auctions and other reasons to invite victims. Fiction can help victims pass The auction will sell stamps, coins, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain and other collectibles, defrauding more than 4 million yuan of money from more than 80 victims with various names such as exhibition fees and auction pre-charges.
The company's so-called "treasure appraisal experts" do not have the qualifications for appraisal. The so-called "auctions" are all arranged by the "will hold" placards, and the final price of the placards will not reach the reserve price of the collection to ensure that the collection is unsold.
After the unsuccessful auction, continue to persuade the victim to convert the auction entry fee to a private negotiation fee or pay a high-standard entry fee to upgrade the auction.
The fictitious identity of the master, the forged auction scene, and the interlocking rhetoric all make the victim lose his ability to judge and sink deeper and deeper.
After trial by the court, 20 persons including the defendant Guo constituted the crime of fraud and were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 13 years and 6 months to one year and 8 months.
Text/Reporter Zhu Jianyong, intern Liu Meng