A Chinese woman, Guan Yue, has been exposed in a massive wage fraud scheme in Shanghai, China. Guan managed to hold down 16 different corporate jobs simultaneously for a period of three years without actually showing up for any of them. Chinese media reports estimate that the scheme brought in approximately $7 million and involved 53 fake workers.
Guan meticulously kept track of her multiple hirings on a sheet of paper and would post pictures from job interviews in her companies’ work channels, pretending to meet clients. When she received more job offers than she could handle, she would pass them on to a friend and take a commission on the role.
Together with her husband, Guan used the earnings from the scheme to purchase an apartment in Shanghai. The funds were funneled through multiple bank accounts.
The scheme unraveled in January when an internet tech CEO, Liu Jian, discovered that one of his employees was working for another company simultaneously. Liu had hired an eight-person sales team that failed to show any real progress after their probation period. When the group’s leader, Yang Hong, accidentally shared an image in a work channel that revealed his dual employment, Liu involved the police. A total of 53 individuals were arrested in connection with the case.
Wage fraud, such as this case, is a significant problem in China, with an estimated 700-800 groups regularly taking multiple jobs from employers. These groups excel at getting hired, presenting polished interview skills, and providing impeccable, albeit fake, resumes. The cases are typically arbitrated through employment law rather than treated criminally, and the groups have become adept at navigating this process.
Labor fraud schemes in China have seen instances where groups successfully infiltrate companies by getting a member hired as the HR representative, who then proceeds to hire the rest of the group.
Author: Ryan Scott
Just a guy
