The pair registered a company named Loving Care in 2010 to build serviced apartment buildings for seniors in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province. When the venture ran into financial trouble, they reportedly teamed up with an organized crime group specializing in illegal fundraising to swindle money from the local community.
The two offenders, surnamed Gan and Luo, ran leaflet campaigns and held marketing events falsely promoting Loving Care as a successful business, according to court documents. Thousands of people handed over large sums of money — believing they were pre-paying for nursing beds and other care services — before the pair was finally arrested.