The metaverse is not a fig leaf; five years and four months is considered relatively short.

The Hebei High People’s Court has released typical cases of cracking down on illegal fundraising. A man packaged an investment project with the concept of the “metaverse,” promoted it to the public, and used the “Newmateworks” platform under “Yishang United Community” to market a virtual goods investment project, inducing the public to participate in the investment. He directly introduced 19 investors to invest 15.3936 million yuan, of which 1.1014 million yuan has been refunded, and 14.2922 million yuan has not yet been refunded.

The court held that this case used emerging technology concepts such as the “metaverse” as a cover to carry out fraudulent marketing. It violated national financial management laws, involved a huge amount of money, and the defendant’s conduct constituted the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits. The court sentenced him to five years and four months of fixed-term imprisonment and imposed a fine.