Fengyuan Family of 5 Driven to Suicide by Fraud; Group-Buying Operator Sentenced to 11 Years in First Trial
A woman surnamed Lee, who ran a group-buying business, defrauded a family of five in Fengyuan District, Taichung City, of over NT$15.36 million after her business fell into debt, ultimately leading to the suicide of all five family members. Prosecutors indicted Lee on charges including fraud. The Taichung District Court, considering her actions heinous, sentenced her to 11 years in prison today in the first-instance verdict. The case can be appealed.
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- 📰 Published: May 20, 2026 at 15:10
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A woman surnamed Lee, who ran a group-buying company and was in debt, defrauded a family of five in Fengyuan District, Taichung City, of over NT$15.36 million, ultimately leading to their suicides. Prosecutors indicted Ms. Lee on charges including fraud. The Taichung District Court, deeming her actions malicious and severe, sentenced her today to 11 years in prison. The verdict can be appealed.
According to the prosecution's indictment, Ms. Lee had been operating a group-buying company since 2019. Due to poor management, she accumulated debts, failed to pay employee salaries, and had checks bounce, forcing her to borrow from pawnshops to maintain cash flow.
In June 2024, Lee was introduced to the Wang family by a beautician surnamed Chang (under a separate investigation), who was a classmate of the family's eldest daughter. Using a Ponzi scheme, Lee collected "group-buying membership fees" ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million from the victims, claiming they would receive a 10% monthly profit on their principal with a guarantee of repayment. In total, she defrauded them of NT$5,008,000.
Lee also concocted a scheme involving profiting from reselling gold. She claimed that if investors used their own credit cards or allowed her to use them to buy gold at a jewelry store for resale, she would pay them a profit of NT$4,000 to NT$10,000 for every tael of gold (approx. NT$100,000) purchased. She promised to cover the credit card payments for the gold purchases, thereby defrauding them of another NT$10,357,003.
When the Wang family victims discovered that Lee was not repaying the credit card bills on time and expressed their desire to stop investing, Lee threatened them, demanding a breach of contract fee. She warned that if they refused to pay, she would send people to their home to cause trouble. To escape the threats, the victims mortgaged their home to borrow NT$2 million from a pawnshop designated by Lee, of which Lee took NT$1.76 million on the spot.
On July 2, 2025, unable to bear Lee's constant threats and pressure, the family of five committed suicide together, leaving behind a letter detailing Lee's crimes. After an investigation, prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of fraud, extortion, and violation of the Banking Act, recommending a heavy sentence of 15 years or more.
During the trial at the Taiwan Taichung District Court, Lee pleaded guilty to all charges. She stated that she had borrowed law books to read while in detention and only then realized she had broken the law, saying, "what's wrong is wrong."
The collegiate panel of judges found that Lee used a Ponzi scheme, promising a 10% monthly return, to illegally absorb funds and defraud investors of over NT$15 million, severely disrupting financial order. She also fraudulently used the victims' credit cards to pay for personal expenses.
Furthermore, when the investors discovered irregularities and wanted to withdraw, Lee fabricated a breach of contract fee and sent a barrage of threatening messages, subjecting them to long-term psychological abuse. This ultimately led the Wang family of five to commit suicide under the immense pressure of threats and heavy debt.
The panel considered that Lee's criminal methods were extremely vicious and the consequences exceptionally severe, all to satisfy her personal greed. Although the defendant confessed during the trial, she has only reached a settlement with one plaintiff and has not yet provided substantial compensation, making it difficult to believe her remorse is genuine. Therefore, the court concluded a heavy sentence was warranted.
Today, the Taichung District Court announced the first-instance verdict. Lee was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months for violating the Banking Act, separate terms of 7 months, 7 months, and 10 months for three counts of fraud, and 4 years and 6 months for extortion. The sentences will be served as a combined 11-year prison term. The entire case can still be appealed.
According to the prosecution's indictment, Ms. Lee had been operating a group-buying company since 2019. Due to poor management, she accumulated debts, failed to pay employee salaries, and had checks bounce, forcing her to borrow from pawnshops to maintain cash flow.
In June 2024, Lee was introduced to the Wang family by a beautician surnamed Chang (under a separate investigation), who was a classmate of the family's eldest daughter. Using a Ponzi scheme, Lee collected "group-buying membership fees" ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$1 million from the victims, claiming they would receive a 10% monthly profit on their principal with a guarantee of repayment. In total, she defrauded them of NT$5,008,000.
Lee also concocted a scheme involving profiting from reselling gold. She claimed that if investors used their own credit cards or allowed her to use them to buy gold at a jewelry store for resale, she would pay them a profit of NT$4,000 to NT$10,000 for every tael of gold (approx. NT$100,000) purchased. She promised to cover the credit card payments for the gold purchases, thereby defrauding them of another NT$10,357,003.
When the Wang family victims discovered that Lee was not repaying the credit card bills on time and expressed their desire to stop investing, Lee threatened them, demanding a breach of contract fee. She warned that if they refused to pay, she would send people to their home to cause trouble. To escape the threats, the victims mortgaged their home to borrow NT$2 million from a pawnshop designated by Lee, of which Lee took NT$1.76 million on the spot.
On July 2, 2025, unable to bear Lee's constant threats and pressure, the family of five committed suicide together, leaving behind a letter detailing Lee's crimes. After an investigation, prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of fraud, extortion, and violation of the Banking Act, recommending a heavy sentence of 15 years or more.
During the trial at the Taiwan Taichung District Court, Lee pleaded guilty to all charges. She stated that she had borrowed law books to read while in detention and only then realized she had broken the law, saying, "what's wrong is wrong."
The collegiate panel of judges found that Lee used a Ponzi scheme, promising a 10% monthly return, to illegally absorb funds and defraud investors of over NT$15 million, severely disrupting financial order. She also fraudulently used the victims' credit cards to pay for personal expenses.
Furthermore, when the investors discovered irregularities and wanted to withdraw, Lee fabricated a breach of contract fee and sent a barrage of threatening messages, subjecting them to long-term psychological abuse. This ultimately led the Wang family of five to commit suicide under the immense pressure of threats and heavy debt.
The panel considered that Lee's criminal methods were extremely vicious and the consequences exceptionally severe, all to satisfy her personal greed. Although the defendant confessed during the trial, she has only reached a settlement with one plaintiff and has not yet provided substantial compensation, making it difficult to believe her remorse is genuine. Therefore, the court concluded a heavy sentence was warranted.
Today, the Taichung District Court announced the first-instance verdict. Lee was sentenced to 5 years and 4 months for violating the Banking Act, separate terms of 7 months, 7 months, and 10 months for three counts of fraud, and 4 years and 6 months for extortion. The sentences will be served as a combined 11-year prison term. The entire case can still be appealed.