63 pyramid scheme suspects detained in Beijing

Beijing police have detained 63 members of Shanxinhui, a company suspected of organizing and leading a pyramid scheme, who gathered in the city on Monday.

The suspects were held in police custody for allegedly “impairing the administration of social order,” police said Wednesday.

Another four people were put under non-criminal detention for “disrupting order in public places,” according to police.

Some suspects who “took the lead in creating trouble and refusing to listen to police orders” have been taken away for further investigation.

An earlier police statement said “some members of Shanxinhui were incited by those with ulterior motives to illegally gather in Beijing, seriously disturbing the capital’s social order.”

The gathering allegedly broke laws and rules, it said.

Chinese police have previously investigated Shanxinhui for allegedly manipulating people into taking part in pyramid selling and cheating them out of huge amounts of property under the guise of helping the poor.