The District Court has jailed a 30-year-old man for four years and six months for swindling 21 people of $8.92 million.

He and 18 other arrested people formed three trading companies in Kowloon and placed advertisements to recruit female junior staff between March 2003 and March 2004.

They claimed their companies had rejected some business deals owing to small quantities or low profit margin and lured the new recruits to form a partnership to take up the deals. Victims were sacked and suffered financial losses after they fell into the trap.

The nine men and 10 women were caught between March 2004 and January this year, with 17 receiving jail terms ranging from two years and six months to four years and six months. A 38-year-old male defendant was earlier acquitted of the charge and the last defendant was sentenced today. A criminal bankruptcy order was also awarded.