The accused in an illegal fundraising case at Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday

ChenZhijun, CEO ofOrangeflagFinance Service Co, was sentenced to life behind bars over illegalfundraisingvia fraud, involving over 2.2 billion yuan (US$336.8 million), Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court said on Tuesday.

Six accomplices were jailed from three years and six months to 13 years and six months.

Between 2013 and 2017, the 48-year-oldShanghaineseand his wife, Zhang Guiying,promised annual interest rates of between 7 and 14 percent to people who were told their money would be invested in film and TV production.

Over 2,000 people lost more than 510 million yuan, the court said.

The Shanghai-based financial company was established in 2006 and its peer-to-peer lending platformOrangeflagLoan was launched in 2014. Many Chinese celebrities supported the platform at that time, including actressQinYiand actor MaJingtao.

Chen was caught by the police in 2018. He was fined 10 million yuan, the court said, while his accomplices were fined between 200,000 and 600,000 yuan.