Burst
Written by: Peng Kaixin Huang Weimin
2020-09-02 12:06
Last update date: 2020-09-02 18:45
The new crown pneumonia epidemic continues, and the government has launched a number of "epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic fund" (hereinafter referred to as "anti-epidemic fund") plans. The police detected a fraud involving the anti-epidemic fund for the first time in early July. Recently, they have detected multiple similar cases and arrested 13 men2 Female, the amount involved is 3.87 million yuan.
In the case, the arrested persons used five major methods to defraud the epidemic prevention fund, including P-pictures, changing the nature of the business, applying for new businesses and opening multiple branches, providing false information, and sub-letting units for applications.
In the case, a man who reported as a security guard also applied for the business registration of 17 nail salons with the intention of defrauding $1.87 million in subsidies, which was the most expensive case involved in the operation.
In this arrest operation, a total of 13 men and 2 women were arrested on charges of "fraud" and "attempt to defraud".
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Superintendent Ye Yonglin of the Commercial Crime Investigation Bureau stated that the Police Commercial Crime Investigation Bureau arrested two men on July 7 for an attempt to defraud the anti-epidemic fund, and then received a report from the Anti-epidemic Fund Secretariat in mid-July, suspected of providing false documents, According to the information, it is falsely claimed that the store is operated by entities and fraudulently defrauded the anti-epidemic fund to obtain one-off subsidies for retail, beauty salons, massage parlors and party rooms.
15 men and women submitted 47 funding applications in an attempt to defraud 3.87 million yuan
After in-depth investigations, the police carried out arrests in various districts across Hong Kong on August 27 and yesterday. A total of 13 men and 2 women were arrested on charges of "fraud" and "attempt to defraud". The arrested persons were aged between 31 to 61 years old, reported as businessmen, construction contractors, security guards, retirees and unemployed, etc., who are suspected of using false information and documents to submit a total of 47 funding applications, including 38 retail subsidies and 9 cosmetics Application for hospitals, massage parlors and party rooms.
The applicant falsely claimed that the relevant business had been operating independently at the declared address before the designated date specified in the funding scheme.
The amount involved in this case is about 3.87 million Hong Kong dollars. Among them, 3 applications submitted by two arrested persons have been approved, involving Hong Kong dollars 240,000. The police have frozen their bank accounts.
Ye Yonglin said that a batch of documents, computers, and mobile phones were seized during the operation. All the arrested men and women are now being detained for investigation.
The police operation is still ongoing, and it is not ruled out that more people have been arrested.
The police appealed to the public not to take risks and try to defraud them of funding because of temporary greed.
According to the law, committing the crime of “fraud” under section 16A of the Theft Ordinance and the use of false instruments under section 73 of the Criminal Offences Ordinance are both very serious crimes. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is 14 years’ imprisonment.
The criminal tactics of the arrested persons can be grouped into five categories. Some of them applied to the Business Registration Office to register a new business after the details of the epidemic prevention fund plan were announced, or opened multiple branches for the old business, and then provided false information, claiming the business. Or the branch has started operations before the date specified by the subsidy scheme to defraud the subsidy.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
The arrested persons defrauded the anti-epidemic fund by five major methods:
Chief Inspector of the Commercial Crime Investigation Bureau, He Ruijuan, stated that the criminal methods of the arrested persons can be classified into five categories.
First: After learning the details of the funding scheme, the applicant immediately applies to the Business Registration Office to register a new business, or open multiple branches for the old business, and then provide false information, claiming that the business or branch is on the date specified by the funding plan It has started operations before, with the purpose of exaggerating the business scale to make more applications.
The man arrested on July 7 surnamed Tang and reported as a security guard applied for the business registration of 17 nail salons at the same time in late April, falsely claiming that each branch had 5 employees, intending to defraud 1.87 million yuan in subsidies .
It is understood that one of the applicants named the company "DLLM", but it was revealed that he had never actually operated the relevant business.
Second: The applicant changes the nature of his business to defraud the funding.
The applicant originally had a business operation, but the nature of his business did not meet the type of funding applied for, so he applied to the Business Registration Office to change the nature of the business.
Third: The applicant submits false documents, including modifying the document address proof and providing false MPF records to exaggerate the number of employees in order to defraud more funding.
Some beauty salons falsely claimed that they hired 5 or more employees in order to defraud each beauty salon and massage parlor of an estimated subsidy of 100,000 yuan, but the business has never actually operated nor hired relevant employees.
Among them, a 31-year-old woman named Li, who was arrested as a businessman, used the electricity bill or gas bill of the property rented by her family to forge address proof and submitted a false MPF payment statement for application Nine grants, including applications from one retail industry and eight beauty salons, were intended to defraud HK$880,000.
Fourth: Applicants will sublet their rented units to different companies for multiple applications. One of the gang has 5 persons arrested, involving the subletting of a unit to 9 shops to apply for subsidies. For more than one application, the relevant examination and approval department will not process the application, so the applicant will name the subletting unit differently, which involves fraud of up to 720,000 yuan.
Fifth: The applicant made false shop photos to prove that his business was actually operated.
In the case, the arrested person used five major methods to defraud the anti-epidemic fund, including the P picture. After downloading the picture online, the sign was changed to the name of the declared business.
The original picture in the picture shows a watch shop in Thailand. The applicant changed its name after downloading the picture and claimed to be its shop.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Inspector Liu Jiaming of the Commercial Crime Investigation Bureau stated that there are three main methods for applicants to make false photos.
First: The applicant downloads or takes pictures of other people's stores online, and revises the store name or signboard later to make the falsely correct store his business.
One of the applicants claimed to be engaged in watch and retail business, so he submitted a picture, but the police found that there was an identical picture on the Internet, and the watch shop in the picture was located in Thailand. The applicant just downloaded the picture and added the picture in the picture. The signboard is modified.
There are also applicants who took photos at a chain house product company, erased the chain house product name, and added their own business name.
Second: An applicant placed his business sign in someone else’s shop and took a photo, falsely claiming that the shop was his own shop. Among them, a 32-year-old man named Ke was arrested and used this method to defraud 400,000 yuan. yuan.
Third: The applicant places the simple shop sign in an industrial building or residence to take photos.
One of the applicants put a piece of A4 paper printed with the business name on the iron gate of the residence as a photo of the shop.
Among those arrested, a man surnamed Wu applied for subsidies from 11 branches at the same time, and photographed easy-to-open frames with business names outside the doors of the industrial building, with the intention of defrauding RMB 880,000.
The police cracked the first case involving fraudulent funds on July 7. Two men were arrested in Kowloon City and Kwun Tong for attempted fraud.
Two suspects involved in false information and submitted 41 funding applications, including 2 applications for retail businesses, 37 applications for beauty salons and 2 applications for party space, falsely claiming that the business had been in operation before the planned date, in an attempt to defraud 2.54 million yuan.
The relevant application has been submitted for business registration, but the registered address has no relevant business operations or has never been rented.
Two men arrested in the first anti-epidemic fund fraud case involving using fake documents to defraud 2.54 million yuan
Epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic fund scams my home
