In recent years, the Malaysian "MBI International Group" has been exposed for multiple illegal fundraising cases in Taiwan. Among them, the couple Lin Guosong and his wife joined in 2015, mobilizing their entire family and, together with a hearing and speech impaired couple surnamed Lin, used the "MFC CLUB" website to issue "GRC" virtual currency, claiming it would only rise and never fall, and guaranteed profits. They specifically targeted the hearing and speech impaired community, luring investments through sign language and written discussions. Over four years, they amassed over NT$39.97 million (about RM5 million) in illicit funds.
According to a report by Liberty Times on the 7th, after trial by the New Taipei District Court, Lin Guosong was sentenced to 4 years in prison for violating the Banking Act. His wife, children, and other related accomplices—a total of 6 people—were each sentenced to between 3 and 3 years and 8 months in prison.
An investigation by the prosecutors found that since 2012, Malaysia's MBI Group had been developing an "MFC CLUB" online organization in Taiwan, issuing the so-called "GRC" virtual currency, and designing multiple investment packages to amass money.
The prosecutors’ investigation showed the group claimed to use a fixed exchange rate (US$1 to NT$34) and offered investment options ranging from US$100 to US$35,000. They asserted that the GRC game tokens would only go up, never down; that an investment of US$1,000 would increase to 1.5 times (US$1,500) every six months and could grow to US$38,443 in 54 months. They also marketed a static bonus plan with slogans like "One-time participation, continuous benefits, no need for referrals to make money—compound energy, million tokens, financial freedom" to entice the public. To further develop their downline, they offered various dynamic bonuses such as “referral bonuses, binary bonuses, and coaching bonuses,” encouraging members to recruit new investors.
Investigations revealed that after joining in 2015, Lin Guosong and his wife enlisted their children to help run the operation, and frequently held investment briefings at places like McDonald's. They also individually lobbied and persuaded people to invest, encouraging investors to attract additional downlines—thus amassing funds. Furthermore, Lin Guosong recruited the hearing and speech impaired Lin couple, exploiting the trust within the deaf community. Through sign language interpretation, distributing promotional materials, and using text messages or written notes, they vigorously urged other hearing-impaired friends to invest. By around 2018-2019, as it became harder to convert GRC points to cash, the group shifted to promoting a new "MTI" scheme, where buying health products could earn bonuses. Altogether, they illegally raised more than NT$39.97 million.
The collegiate panel found that most of the investors in this case were hearing and speech impaired people in a disadvantaged position, struggling to make a living. The acts by Lin and others caused many citizens to invest large sums that should have been for their family's livelihood, most losing everything. Whole families and careers collapsed, and even friendships were broken because of this, leaving victims in dire straits both at home and work. Moreover, they raised tens of millions of NT dollars over a long period—an immense sum—seriously disrupting the nation's financial order and economic stability, and fueling speculative tendencies. Hence, the above prison sentences were imposed.