Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Ant Farm Con Man Gets Death

Fraudulent sales of "medicinal ants" earned him $400 million

By J. Kelman, Newser User

Posted Mar 21, 2007 3:13 PM CDT

(Newser) – A pyramid scheme built on an ant farm earned a Chinese entrepreneur over $400 million—and a death sentence. The sentence meted out to Wang Zhendong by a Chinese court last month is part of a nationwide crackdown on fraud. Wang swindled thousands of... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

There are no comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Oosp: Romney's New App Misspells 'America'

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

China • death penalty • medicine • Wang Zhendong • pyramid scheme • fraud • ants • death sentence

More Newser Stories

600 Miles and 25 Years Apart, Brothers Sentenced to Die

Rodney, Roger Berget led troubled lives

(NEWSER) - Twelve years after his older brother Roger Berget was executed for killing a man, Rodney Berget sits on South Dakota's death row awaiting his own death sentence. Roger was convicted in 1987 of murdering a man for his car and was put to death in Oklahoma at age 39; Rodney was convicted of beating a South Dakota prison guard to death with a pipe while he tried to escape in 2003. At the time, he was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping. His execution is scheduled for September, but will likely be delayed for a mandatory review, the AP reports. More»

S. Korea Busts Smuggled Pills—Made of Baby Flesh

Some believe substance to be cure-all

(NEWSER) - South Korean customs authorities have made a highly disturbing find: Thousands of capsules made of powdered baby flesh, believed by some to have healing powers. Smugglers have attempted to get nearly 17,500 such capsules into the country since August, officials say. Made in northeastern China, the pills contain diced flesh that has been dried on a stove. Concerned about diplomatic tension, officials wouldn't reveal who made the capsules or how they got to South Korea. More»

US World's No. 5 Executioner: Amnesty

Executions surge in Middle East

(NEWSER) - Fewer countries than ever are executing people, but those countries are doing so with gusto, according to a new report from Amnesty International. Just 20 nations still use the death penalty. The US executed 43 people last year, making it 5th globally, and the only Western democracy on the list, the AP reports. “If you look at the company we're in globally, it's not the company we want to be in: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq,” said the executive director of Amnesty International USA. More»

New Death Sentences Hit 35-Year Low

Just 78 sentenced this year: new report

(NEWSER) - The number of death sentences handed down this year dropped 30% compared to last, hitting the lowest level in 35 years, according to a new report. Just 78 people were sentenced to death this year—marking "the first time we've had fewer than 100 new death sentences in a year in the modern era of capital punishment," says the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, the nonprofit behind the report. In addition, 43 people were executed, compared to 46 last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

China Drops Death Penalty for Tax Evasion

Along with a dozen other non-violent crimes

(NEWSER) - China has eliminated the death penalty as a possible punishment for 13 non-violent offenses, the AP reports. But critics say it probably won't make a big dent in the estimated 5,000 annual executions in the country—nearly 70 crimes still carry a possible death sentence, many of them non-violent. Among the offenses no longer in the capital punishment category: forging invoices to avoid taxes and smuggling cultural relics out of the country. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Ant Farm Con Man Gets Death

Fraudulent sales of "medicinal ants" earned him $400 million

China • death penalty • medicine • Wang Zhendong • pyramid scheme • fraud • ants • death sentence

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

600 Miles and 25 Years Apart, Brothers Sentenced to Die

Rodney, Roger Berget led troubled lives

S. Korea Busts Smuggled Pills—Made of Baby Flesh

Some believe substance to be cure-all

US World's No. 5 Executioner: Amnesty

Executions surge in Middle East

New Death Sentences Hit 35-Year Low

Just 78 sentenced this year: new report

China Drops Death Penalty for Tax Evasion

Along with a dozen other non-violent crimes

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?