Five people involved in a pyramid-selling fraud scheme have been jailed 42 months each by the District Court for conspiracy to defraud.

Between February 2005 and May last year, Police received complaints of a cash-planting scheme a Kowloon Bay company was promoting.

The victims were mostly elderly people. They were required to pay from $2,100 to $30,000 and received coupons of the same value in return for redemption of beauty treatments and health food products. However, the products redeemed were worthless.

The victims were also promised a cash rebate of 40 times or 400% of the sum they had invested in 18 months and were encouraged to recruit new members to receive additional cash rebates.

On May 25 last year, Police officers raided the suspect company and arrested the five defendants, aged 29 to 60.

More than 300 victims had joined the investment scheme and had paid the companies a sum of over $4 million.