They ran scam factories: China executes 11 members of fraud clan

Wenzhou (China) – They raked in millions with fake love and crypto fraud, are said to be responsible for the deaths of several people in their scam factories – and ultimately paid with their own lives. A Chinese court has executed 11 members of a notorious Myanmar clan family.

According to Chinese news agencies and media, the mostly male perpetrators belonged to the Ming clan, which operates in the border area of ​​China and Myanmar. They were accused of crimes such as murder, intentional bodily harm, deprivation of liberty, Fraud and operating a casino. The term scam factory is derived from the English scam, German: fraud.

Torture behind the walls of scam factories

For this purpose, the clan had strictly guarded facilities built in which people were lured under false promises previously kidnapped forced laborers were forced to commit fraud. There was a culture of violence behind the walls. Beatings and torture were commonplace, according to statements from freed workers.

14 Chinese citizens are said to have died and many more were injured. According to United Nations estimates, hundreds of thousands of people work in the dreaded scam factories.

Court speaks of 1.4 billion dollars in loot

Countless people around the world fell for the sophisticated scams. Were made with feigned love gullible victims ripped off and made huge sums of money from illegally operated gambling dens. According to China’s Supreme Court, the equivalent of more than 1.4 billion US dollars was raised between 2015 and 2023.

The Ming criminal empire collapsed in 2023 after many militia leaders were arrested and handed over to Chinese authorities. Clan-Chief Ming Xuechang is said to have committed suicide in 2023 to avoid arrest.

Execution by shooting or lethal injection

As early as September 2025, a court in the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou sentenced the crime family to death and carried out the executions on Thursday. Appeals had previously been rejected and the verdicts confirmed by the Supreme People’s Court.

Under Chinese law, serious criminals are executed either by firing squad or by lethal injection. However, there has officially been no execution by shooting in China for years.