The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court imprisons 24 people on February 29, 2016, for fraudulent fund-raising of nearly 10 billion yuan. They have cheated more than 230,000 victims, mostly elderly people, from 2002 to 2012. [Photo: Southcn.com]

A court in south China's Guangdong Province on Monday imprisoned 24 people for fraudulent fund-raising of nearly 10 billion yuan, or some 1.5 billion US dollars.

The main suspect, Jiang Hongwei, was sentenced to life in prison while 23 others received jail terms ranging from 3 to 14 years.

The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court convicted the ring of cheating more than 230-thousand victims, mostly elderly people, from 2002 to 2012.

The group set up four companies in Guangzhou, and many branches and subsidiaries across China.

China's central government has promised severe retribution against illegal fund-raisers after Ezubao, an online peer-to-peer platform, was found to have cheated investors out of more than seven billion U.S. dollars through fake investments earlier this year.