China Executes 2 Women in Fraud Case
Two women were executed Wednesday as the alleged ringleaders of one of the worst swindles in modern China, a case that reportedly involves the capital’s disgraced leadership.
The two were among six found guilty of using the Xinxing Industrial Corp. in Wuxi, 620 miles south of Beijing, to raise $385 million fraudulently through a pyramid scheme, the official New China News Agency reported.
The case is one of the most serious to come to light in a three-year anti-graft campaign launched by the ruling Communist Party.
At least one official in the Beijing municipal government is reported to have ties to Xinxing. Wednesday’s announcement by the Supreme People’s Court of the executions gave no indication whether charges are pending against any top officials in the capital.
Deng Bin, 58, Xinxing’s general manager, and Yao Jingyi, 54, were executed in Wuxi. A third person was given a suspended death sentence, and three others received prison terms.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
