A Chinese court has sentenced 16 members of the notorious Ming crime family to death for running sprawling cyber scam operations from Myanmar’s Kokang region, near the Chinese border. The criminal group was found responsible for over $1.4 billion in fraudulent activity and more than a dozen deaths, including Chinese nationals who were killed while trying to escape forced labor in the scam compounds.
The verdict, delivered by the Wenzhou People’s Intermediate Court in Zhejiang Province, marks one of the harshest crackdowns yet on Southeast Asia–based scam operations. Eleven of the accused received immediate death sentences, while five others were handed suspended death penalties. An additional 23 members of the syndicate were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 24 years to life.
Chinese prosecutors said the syndicate’s crimes included cyber fraud, drug trafficking, prostitution, illegal gambling, and homicide. The network operated in Kokang, a region of Myanmar’s Shan State controlled by armed militias with ties to the military junta — groups analysts say are supported by Beijing.
Among those sentenced to death are high-ranking family members Ming Guoping and Ming Zhenzhen, the son and granddaughter of Ming Xuechang, the deceased patriarch who reportedly ran the local police force. Ming Xuechang fatally shot himself during his arrest in November 2023.
The court held the group responsible for the deaths of at least 16 people and numerous injuries, mostly individuals forced to work in the scam centers who died while attempting to flee.
Experts say the sentencing sends a powerful message from China that large-scale fraud operations targeting its citizens — particularly those operating just across its borders — will not be tolerated.
“This is significant,” said Jason Tower of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. “China is now heavily investing in support for Myanmar’s military regime, but this case shows scamming Chinese citizens is a red line.”
The United Nations estimates that scam operations in Southeast Asia siphoned off between $18 billion and $37 billion from victims across East and Southeast Asia in 2023 alone.
Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for activist group Justice For Myanmar, said the Ming family was deeply embedded in Myanmar’s military and political landscape, particularly in Kokang. She called for broader international sanctions, targeting not just criminal networks but also the Myanmar military junta that enables and profits from these industries.
