Chinese police have recently arrested the mastermind behind a crypto exit scam BHB which was estimated to have amassed 200 million yuan ($28 million) at least, from over 25,000 investors.

The accused surnamed Diao, has currently been under arrest, according to local police in Qingshen, a county of Sichuan province in southwest China. The suspect is barely 25 years old, but supposedly made millions in this fraud.

The marketing scheme reportedly began on December 2nd, 2018 when vulnerable investors were looking for profitable crypto projects amid the bitcoin slump. The pyramid scheme solicited members via a promise of high returns (at least 7% when purchasing 700 BHB) and great USDT rewards for enrolling others into it.

To make their story convincing, the alleged blockchain startup used images of people who were portrayed as college professors in the area, while investigation later found that none of them mentioned in the project took part in the scam.

The scam coin was sold through the XBTC.CX exchange, the only exchange allowing investors to purchase BHB tokens using USDT or Chinese yuan. The listing of the token began in December and lasted until January when the exchange suspended withdrawals and froze trading of BHB.

As the minimum investment for an individual started from 8,000 yuan ($1,130), with more than 25,000 investors participating in it, BHB’s fraudulent revenue was estimated to be 200 million yuan ($28 million) at least, though the police has not disclosed the detailed number.

Merely in less than two months, more than 25,000 investors had fallen into the trap handing over 200 million yuan. The fast money by making use of the concepts of cryptocurrency and blockchain has been alluring more villains into the space. According to cybersecurity firm CipherTrace, 2019 may be the “Year of the Exit Scam”, with $3.1 billion swindled from crypto investors through exit scams in Q1 2019, the number, it noted, is only preliminary and that there are numerous other allegations under investigation.

China’s push to crack down on crypto scams has brought with it a serial of arrest within the country, particularly since entering 2019. This July, a $3 billion Ponzi scheme “PlusToken” has roiled the crypto space after six of its Chinese key members were arrested by Vanuatu police; In April, an infamous crypto scam named HeroChain was cracked down, which amassed over 300 million yuan ($46 million) with 15 suspects arrested; in late January, a $193 million crypto scam IAC was uncovered with 27 suspects arrested.