33 punished over telecom fraud in Chongqing

CHONGQING -- Thirty-three fraudsters were sentenced up to 14 years in prison for posing as doctors to promote health products via phone or WeChat and swindling over 56 million yuan ($7.9 million).

According to a court in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, the defendants founded multiple health management companies in Chinese cities and employed salespersons pretending to be medical experts to sell health products at high prices to middle-aged and elderly people.

An estimated 56.15 million yuan of medical bills were taken illegally during 2014 to 2017, the investigation showed.

The defendants were given prison terms ranging from three years to 14 years and fined from 10,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.