Criminal offences commonly committed by elderly people

Pyramid schemes

Pyramid schemes are schemes that earn money by getting new participants to sign up for the scheme. Each new participant must pay a fee to the promoter to participate in the scheme and then earns money by recruiting new participants. 

The maximum penalty for participating in a pyramid scheme is a fine of HK$1,000,000 and seven years’ imprisonment, under section 5 of the Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance, Cap. 617.

What if I am only selling goods for a commission?

A scheme involving the selling of goods may still be a pyramid scheme if it involves earning money from the recruitment of new members, whereby the income depends not on product sales, but on the number of people recruited to sell the products.