Reflections on Criminal Law Regulation of the Chaos in "Housing-for-Pension" Fraud

Abstract

In recent years, the "housing-for-pension" model has gained more and more public attention as a novel type of commercial endowment insurance. Criminal actors, however, have taken advantage of this mechanism to create fraudulent schemes, leaving elderly participants penniless after losing their property and assets. With a high percentage of crimes going unreported and a pressing need for institutionalized criminal prosecution, the administration of "housing-for-pension" fraud currently faces significant obstacles. An integrated application of criminal law ought to be used to regulate such circumstances.The fund-raising operations associated with "housing-for-pension" scams should be classified as crimes pertaining to illegal fundraising since they satisfy the four requirements of illegal fundraising under Chinese criminal law. Furthermore, such crimes should be classified as fundraising fraud as the offenders’ actions and intent meet the fraudulent portion of the offense.