Behind the 15 celebrities involved in the JPEX case: KOL cold-bloodedly hyped the murder case and spread money in the city center to gain traffic

Author丨Carl

Editor丨Gene

The false propaganda of KOLs has finally been punished by law. Recently, the JPEX case has further developed, and the Hong Kong police arrested 6 people on suspicion of "conspiracy to defraud", including KOL Lin Zuo, Chen Yi, etc.

The currency circle is impetuous. KOLs may have become accustomed to using shocking behaviors to gain attention, earn traffic, and obtain benefits. However, those who violate the law will be punished by law.

As Hong Kong vigorously promotes the development of Web 3.0, compliance is gradually tightening, and the encryption industry is also moving towards formality. As Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang said, JPEX’s behavior does not represent the entire industry. It is precisely because Hong Kong must vigorously promote Web3.0 policies to strike a balance between supervision and innovation, and bad money cannot drive out good money.

1. 15 celebrity KOLs were involved in the case, and Lin Zuo and Chen Yi were arrested

On September 18, due to a case involving the virtual asset trading platform JPEX, the Hong Kong police arrested 4 men and 2 women on suspicion of "conspiracy to commit fraud." The arrested people included currency circle KOL Lin Zuo and Chen Yi.

The Hong Kong police stated that as of 2 p.m. on September 18, a total of 1,408 people had received reports on JPEX-related incidents, involving a total amount of HK$1 billion. The case is under further investigation and more arrests cannot be ruled out.

Prior to this, the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission issued an announcement warning that the virtual asset trading platform JPEX was not regulated and had not submitted a license application to the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission. The Hong Kong police intervened in the case. After that, JPEX staff evacuated the Singapore Token2049 site in an emergency, and currency withdrawal restrictions were set on the JPEX exchange. The currency withdrawal fee is 999U, and the currency withdrawal limit is 1,000U.

According to Techub News statistics, as many as 15 celebrities and KOLs are involved in the JPEX case, including Lin Zuo, YouTubers Chen Yi, Xiao Ruoyuan, Zhong Peisheng, Zhang Zhilin, Zhuang Simin, Fei Ma, "Coin Master" Huang Chengjie, etc., and Taiwanese artist Chen Lingjiu Also involved.

Before being arrested, Lin Zuo once issued a document stating that he would cooperate with all the requirements of the regulatory authorities, and would personally go to the police station to provide relevant information on the case and disassociate himself from JPEX. “My own business is not related to the exchange. I can’t really find the company.” Platform leader.”

Another arrested KOL, Chen Yi, was very dissatisfied with the Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission’s warning to JPEX. She posted a video on social media criticizing the Hong Kong government for suppressing JPEX. She claimed: “It’s a pity that the government has not enacted a fake news law, otherwise you can see All staff of the China Securities Regulatory Commission have been jailed."

Currently, JPEX has delisted all transactions on the financial management page. On September 18, JPEX issued an announcement stating that it once again requested guidance from the Securities Regulatory Commission on September 15, but only received a response that it had been handed over to the police.

2. Impetuous currency circle KOL: Hype murder cases, spend money to gain traffic

Before the JPEX case, Lin Zuo, "Master Coin" Huang Zhengjie and many other KOLs involved in the case were controversial.

According to media reports, Lin Zuo grew up in a wealthy family. He was qualified as a barrister and was apprenticed to senior barrister Qing Hong. He was voluntarily debarred in 2017. In 2020, he served as a financial planning consultant for Prudential in the UK, but was fired for cold-bloodedly hyping up a murder case. In July this year, Lin Zuo publicly stated that he had applied to become a JPEX partner, and in August he opened a "Lin Zuo Coin Speculation" in the Entertainment District in Central, Hong Kong, to promote virtual currencies and JPEX.

In June this year, a shocking murder occurred in Plaza Hollywood in Hong Kong. In order to gain attention, Lin Zuo stated on social media that he and the suspect owned the same type of sneakers. The shoes were 90% new for only NT$399, and came with accessories. Post photos of yourself deliberately imitating the suspect's appearance, including the same shoes and similar clothes.

Lin Zuo's behavior was criticized by netizens. Under the pressure of public opinion, Lin Zuo's company issued a statement. Lin Zuo's personal remarks were contrary to the company's values and decided to terminate the cooperation.

Previously, Lin Zuo made many shocking moves, such as publicly stating that 90% of contestants for Miss Hong Kong are ugly girls, publishing half-naked photos of his girlfriend, questioning whether Chen Kailin and her younger brother were biological parents, and willing to pay 1 million for a DNA test.

"Master of Coin" Huang Zhengjie is a model of "diaosi counterattack" in the currency circle. According to media reports, Huang Zhengjie, formerly known as Guan Zijie, once worked as a swimming coach and was sentenced to a 160-hour social service order for stealing a mobile phone. Later, Huang Zhengjie "made eight figures" in his first pot of gold by purchasing Bitcoin around 2015, and claimed that "The first person in Hong Kong's blockchain".

However, Huang Zhengjie's outrageous behavior led to his arrest at least twice. In 2018, Huang Zhengjie dropped a large amount of Hong Kong dollars on the rooftop of Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, but it was exposed that he used this to attract traffic for the purpose of "making money." After that, Huang Zhengjie was arrested by the police on suspicion of disorderly conduct in public places for violating Hong Kong's Public Order Ordinance. , and was later released on bail.

In 2019, Huang Zhengjie was arrested for selling virtual currency mining machines for fraud, involving an amount of approximately 2.6 million yuan. According to reports, Huang Zhengjie has long been making false propaganda by arranging investment lectures and using social media to promote the virtual currency Filecoin mining machine, claiming that "the money can be paid back in three months" to induce victims to buy.

Industry analysts say that the modern Internet celebrity economy has spawned excessive commercialization and excessive pursuit of vanity and exposure, while Internet celebrities in the currency circle are more impetuous. Under the wealth effect of the encryption industry, many KOLs will do whatever it takes to pursue traffic. Many behaviors violate the bottom line of human morality, but cannot be restrained in any way. But no matter what, breaking the law is unforgivable and will eventually be punished by the law.

"Because of KOL's false propaganda, a large number of users suffered losses. Several KOLs involved claimed that they also lost money. This is questionable. They will never tell the public how much money they actually made." The analysis People said.

3. The maximum penalty is 14 years in prison.

TonyTong.co, co-chairman of the Hong Kong Blockchain Association HKBA.club, told Techub News that this is the first enforcement action by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission since the new virtual asset licensing system came into effect, and the first against an unlicensed exchange. This blow will promote the compliance development of Hong Kong's Web3.0 industry.

“JPEX has invested a huge amount of advertising money in Hong Kong. Their advertising is the loudest. KOLs, subways, signboards, etc. are all over the streets with their advertisements. However, they do not have a license and have not applied for a license. This is very important to exchanges that have applied for a license. It's very unfair. The China Securities Regulatory Commission needs to properly regulate the crypto market to prevent more fraud. This also reminds other exchanges that they must apply for a license." Tang Yi said.

Regarding the JPEX incident, Hong Kong Legislative Council member Wu Jiezhuang posted on social media that this is the behavior of an individual unlicensed exchange and does not represent the entire industry. It is precisely because Hong Kong must vigorously promote Web3.0 policies to achieve greater progress in supervision and innovation. Balance, bad money cannot drive out good money.

In other countries and regions, Internet celebrities are often prosecuted for carrying cryptocurrency. Recently, the U.S. SEC accused actress Lindsay Lohan and YouTuber Jake Paul of selling cryptocurrency on social media, as well as boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and former NBA players. Paul Pierce has also been indicted for allegedly leading investors into cryptocurrency scams.

Tang Yi suggested to Internet celebrities in the encryption industry that before promoting related products, they must clearly understand whether the company and their products are legal and compliant. Promoting organizations that have not obtained a license will involve legal liability and even criminal offenses. risk.

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Mura founder and lawyer Wu Wenqian told Techub News that some celebrities/KOLs promoted themselves as JPEX partners online. The word "partner" may make people think that this is not just general publicity and endorsement. When celebrities endorse crypto exchanges, they must be careful with the content of their promotions. If the content is misleading, it may be considered a conspiracy to commit fraud. If a KOL advertises online that an unlicensed exchange has obtained a license, this may also be misleading.

According to Section 159C of the Crimes Ordinance, Chapter 200 of the Laws of Hong Kong, conspiracy to defraud is punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment. According to the Theft Ordinance, Chapter 210 of the Laws of Hong Kong, dishonestly obtaining property belonging to another person by deception is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.

Liu Zhengyao, a lawyer at Shanghai Mankiw Law Firm, told Techub News that in mainland China, crypto industry KOLs also have similar legal risks. Common criminal legal risks are closely related to criminal legal risks in different subdivisions of the blockchain industry, such as Help project parties recommend digital collections and virtual currencies, match virtual currency purchases and sales, provide information intermediary services, and spread false and inaccurate information.

Liu Zhengyao suggested that KOLs must ensure the authenticity and reliability of information before publishing or forwarding information. They should try not to publish information that is difficult to verify the source of the information and may have a negative impact on others. They would rather miss the traffic dividends brought by false information. Don’t be harmed by false information recklessly released.