On the 22nd, the topic "Film and television investment fraud involving multiple stars participating in movies" topped the list of hot searches on Weibo. The case affected as many as 12 movies, 5 of which have been released, such as "Mailuren" and "Ruffian" Lover", "Poet", etc.
On January 23, the Spring Festival movie "Hot and Spicy" issued a statement through its official Weibo, saying that the film's first producer, Xinli Media Group Co., Ltd., stated in a statement that there have been recent criminals impersonating the film's producers, investors, etc., in order to Illegal financing in the name of film investment, copyright subscription, income transfer, etc. The company has not authorized any individual, company or institution to carry out any investment and financing cooperation in the name of the film, and investors are reminded to be vigilant and guard against being deceived.
What’s going on behind this? If a celebrity participates in a movie and is involved in a film and television investment fraud case, will the celebrity be implicated and bear joint liability?
Four cultural media companies were involved in investment fraud cases
On January 16, the Lanzhou Municipal People’s Procuratorate and the Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau jointly issued a notice stating that in 2022, the Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau detected a film and television investment fraud case headed by Li Moumou. Criminal gangs carefully design and arrange their rhetoric, use identities such as "lecturer" and "assistant", use social software such as QQ and WeChat to attract investors to invest in stocks, and then exaggerate the film production costs and expected box office returns to guide investors Purchasing the "profit share" of a movie to commit fraud, only a small part of the fraudulent amount is used to pay the movie producer to purchase the share, and the remaining amount is used to implement fraudulent operations and personal squandering.
This case involves a total of 4 companies: Beijing Bammie Culture Media Co., Ltd., Zhongrui Taifeng (Beijing) Culture Communication Co., Ltd., Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd., and Beijing Maifenshi Culture Media Co., Ltd.; involved 12 movies: "The Van Gogh Project", "The Monkey King: The Sky-Eating Monkey", "Mailu Man", "Rescue from the Raging Sea", "The Poet", "Desperate Rescue", "Oppa, You Are So Handsome", "The Ruffian Lover", "Money on the Road" "Love You with All My Heart" (renamed "Fist Mom" or "Punch Mom"), "Shanghai Shanghai" and "Luban Underground Palace".
According to the reporter's query on the China Judgment Document Network, it was learned that in 2022, Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd. was ordered to return the plaintiff's subscription of 98,000 yuan due to a contract dispute in the first instance.
According to the civil judgment, on June 8, 2021, Feng Moumou, as Party B, signed the "Movie <怒海营救> Income Rights Transfer Agreement" with Party A, Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd. The film "Rescue" is scheduled to be released in 2021 (Note: "Rescue" has not been released yet, and the latest news shows that it is scheduled to be released on May 1, 2024). Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd. reported to Feng that The price for transferring 0.05% of the investment income rights of the project as stipulated in this agreement is 140,000 yuan. After Party B pays Party A, Party B will enjoy 0.05% of the net income rights of the project and become a joint investor in the movie "Rescue" .
Subsequently, Feng Moumou signed the "Resolution Agreement for the Transfer of Income Rights of Movie <怒海营救>" (hereinafter referred to as the termination agreement) with Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd. Because Feng Moumou took the initiative to terminate the agreement, he had to bear the subscription A penalty of 30% of the payment will be deducted from the subscription amount.
In the end, the defendant Beijing China Film Xinyi International Film and Television Culture Media Co., Ltd. was sentenced to return the plaintiff’s subscription fee of 98,000 yuan after deducting liquidated damages.
Chang Sha, a partner at Beijing Jingdu Law Firm, said that when the content of the contract violates the law, the contract signed by both parties is invalid from the beginning. Unless there is a special agreement between the parties, the breach of contract clause is invalid. Therefore, if this case meets the above conditions, the victim no longer needs to submit liquidated damages and can recover the deducted liquidated damages.
“In addition, if the new evidence is sufficient to prove that the case is suspected of a criminal offense, it can be handled through a criminal report. After applying for filing of the case, the public security organ will handle it according to relevant procedures."
Victims are all over the country
There are still people who have not reported the case
In order to recover the losses of the people to the maximum extent, the Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau issued the "Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau's Collection of Clues for the "8·17" Film and Television Investment Fraud Cases as early as September 26, 2022 "Notice", but because the victims in this case are all over the country and there are so many, the victims have successively reported the case, which affects the trial of the case. As of now, some victims have not yet reported the case.
In order to effectively and accurately accuse the crime, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the victim, and crack down according to law Recently, the Lanzhou Municipal People's Procuratorate and the Public Security Bureau have once again solicited clues about the gang's illegal crimes from the public. It is hoped that those who have been deceived as mentioned above will prepare relevant materials and contact the Criminal Police Detachment of the Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau before February 29, 2024.
The notice stated that the reporter needs to bring a copy of his or her ID card (both front and back); copies of the "Agreement on Transfer of Usufruct Rights" ("Joint Subscription Agreement"), certificate of holding of usufruct rights, receipts and other documents; and transfer vouchers; Screenshots of chat records and other relevant evidence materials.
The public security organs remind that victims who fail to report to the public security organs within the time limit will be deemed to have given up the report. The relevant consequences will be borne by the individual and we hope to tell each other.
Film and television investment fraud cases
How are people deceived?
According to previous Metropolis Express reports, as early as 2022, many netizens reported that they were deceived by companies such as Beijing Zhongrui Taifeng Cultural Communication Company and Beijing Eight Millimeters Cultural Media Company for investing in making movies. Among them, some people invested in "The Monkey King" Three movies including "The Sky-Eating Monkey" were defrauded out of RMB 550,000.
Judging from the reports from netizens, they began to be exposed to film investment projects in March and April 2020, and were defrauded for more than a year. This is also a characteristic of investment and financial management fraud. : The cycle is long and difficult to detect in time. When the victim discovers that he has been deceived, the fraud gang has already taken away the money and ran away.
It is understood that investment movie scams can be summarized into several steps:
1. First, attract people into the stock investment group , in the early stage, there were so-called instructors who talked about stock investment and analyzed stocks.
2. Later, the instructor recommended movie projects to the students in the group, or said that they knew a certain director and had new investment channels. And these game makers, in order to Credibility, you may have prepared information in advance such as shooting trailers, etc.
3. Inducing you to sign a contract and transfer money or go to the app to transfer money, maybe in the early stage, because the victim is also trying to invest a little money, and the platform will give out some profits, and You can withdraw cash, and when the victim is fully convinced and invests additional money, the platform will close down, the company will close, and the instructor will not be able to be contacted...
4. Some so-called "instructors" broadcast live broadcasts on social media to attract people to take the bait.
The police said that ordinary citizens have no idea about investing in movies. Investing in movies is not just about investing some money, but requires investors to have strong professionalism and risk resistance. They should not rely solely on the project promotion ppts, movie posters, etc. of film and television companies. The content is to sign an investment agreement.
Celebrities participating in movies are involved in investment fraud cases.
Are they jointly and severally liable?
According to the notice, the above-mentioned fraudulent investment case has affected as many as 12 movies, of which 5 have been released and 7 have not been released.
There are many well-known actors in the released movies. For example, the movie "Mailuren" stars Aaron Kwok and Miriam Yeung; "The Ruffian Lover" stars Shu Qi and Zhou Yiwei; and "Poet" stars Song Jia and Zhu Yawen.
On the 22nd, after the topic "Many celebrities participated in movies involved in film and television investment fraud cases" topped the list of hot searches on Weibo, many netizens were concerned about "movies starring celebrities are suspected of defrauding investors. Should the celebrities themselves be jointly and severally liable?"
Lawyer Chang Sha told reporters that as a participant in a movie, whether celebrities should bear joint and several liability for the movie's alleged defrauding of investors is a complex issue that requires consideration of multiple factors.
First of all, it should be clear that the role of stars in film production is usually that of actors. Their duty is to perform, not to be responsible for the business and financial operations of the film.However, if a star is not only an actor, but also participates in the production, promotion or decision-making of a movie, and intentionally or negligently participates in fraud during the process, he or she needs to bear corresponding responsibilities.
Secondly, it is necessary to consider whether the star knew in advance that the movie was suspected of defrauding investors. If a celebrity is aware of the situation but fails to take any action or report it to the relevant agencies, they may be held jointly and severally liable. If the stars knew nothing about the situation, or had taken reasonable steps to understand the situation and confirm the legality of the film, then they may not be jointly and severally liable.
In summary, whether celebrities should bear joint and several liability for the film’s alleged defrauding of investors needs to be judged based on the specific circumstances.
Comprehensive The Paper News, City Express
