Liu Ning (center of the second row) and Meng Yang (center of the first row) are being escorted to Beijing by several plain clothes police officers on the plane. Photo provided to Sino-US.com.

Global Future City CEO Liu Ning (Samuel Liu), who is suspected of illegally trading GX Coins, was arrested recently by Chinese police, an insider told the sino-US.com. Besides, it was revealed that Liu is not a Chinese American, but only a green card holder.

According to a report by the US China Press on August 9, Liu was first arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport by Taiwan police who then handed him over to the mainland police in Changde, south China’s Hunan province. Liu’s assistant Meng Yang was also arrested.

The trading of GX Coins was suspected to be a pyramid scheme and it was first reported by Chinese mainstream media including the state-owned Xinhua News Agency in July. It was reported that the pyramid scheme involves as many as 130,000 members. Over 60 agents in China for the US Global Future City have been arrested. Among them, 9 were suspected of organizing a pyramid scheme in the name of selling GX Coins.

According to police investigation, GX Coin is a virtual coin that Liu has launched through the Internet since March 2014. He offers high future profits on the GX Coins to his members who are encouraged to develop the next level members from whom they get paid.

In order to transfer its capital, Liu appointed Meng as his agent in China, and registered 13 companies in Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guiyang, Beijing and so on. The police have estimated losses of nearly 2 billion yuan for the companies.

According to the vice director of Changde police station, running a pyramid scheme in the name of selling virtual coins is a new form of pyramid scheme, which investors should be cautious about.

According to the introduction of Liu on the website of Future City, besides being the founder of the Future City, Liu has around 10 titles including “former Deputy Secretary of State of California” and “the special adviser to President Bill Clinton and Bush”, which are doubted by netizens.

In response, Liu, who was then in Taiwan, said on July 28 through WeChat that while the “Deputy Secretary of State of California” appointment was made by the then Secretary of State of California, March Fong Eu, “special adviser of the President” position was granted by the two presidents when he donated for them.

However, he also said that he could not find the appointment letter “because it has been too many years since then.”

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Liu said that the Global Future City is a listed company which was approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and the trading of GX Coins is legal and reasonable.

According to Liu Longzhu, a lawyer based in Los Angeles, the involvement of 130,000 members in the trading of GX Coins and the arrest of over 60 people shows it is a typical pyramid scheme.

(This article is translated and edited by Chunmei.)