28 detained over antique appraisal ‘scam’
Print Edition
TWENTY-EIGHT suspects have been detained for allegedly defrauding over 80 people out of nearly 1 million yuan (US$150,000) in an antiques appraisal scam, police said yesterday.
Their company, Wengang, based in Jiangwan Town in Hongkou District, charged the collectors up to 56,000 yuan in appraisal and exhibition fees after falsely claiming that there were prospective buyers willing to pay high prices for their collections, police said.
The suspects allegedly posed as potential buyers to make the fraudulent deals appear legitimate, police said.
The collectors were required to pay the fees for the antiques to be appraised and certified as real, as required by the “buyers,” according to police.
But later the appraisal reports fabricated by the suspects showed that the antiques did not meet the company’s requirements, leaving the collectors out of pocket when the “deals” fell through, police said.
The company’s high offers attracted many collectors willing to sell, which aroused suspicion.
The antiques brought in by the collectors included what they claimed to be ancient coins, handicrafts, ceramics and pieces of meteorites.
Most victims were from out of town and found out about the company through Internet forums, police said.
The company, which was founded in June, was raided at the end of last month.
One of the five founding members of the company is still being sought by police.
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