Get-rich-quick cosmetics scam tricks over 2,000
The central government has ordered a crackdown on pyramid schemes after more than 2,000 university students were reportedly lured to Chongqing with the promise of earning quick money.
The students came from universities in Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi, according to reports in the Hubei-based Chutian Metropolis Daily.
They were put to work selling cosmetic products for a company identified as Oliman, which claimed to be a French brand.
Police from Hubei and Chongqing have shut down the scheme and arrested three men from Hunan .
The students, mostly in their final year of study, were found living in harsh conditions in groups of 10 at 120 different locations in Chongqing's Yubei district in March.
They were surviving on vegetable scraps discarded from local markets and sleeping on dirty bedding, the newspaper said.