A former private equity champion once dubbed the "special forces soldier of China's stock market" has traded candlestick charts for camera lenses following a four-year prison sentence. Ye Fei, the whistleblower who triggered a market-wide shakeup with his accusations of fake "market value management," saw his new 10-episode crime drama pulled from the Redfruit short drama platform just hours after its September 1 debut. The show, titled "The King of Fraud," explores scams involving pig-butchering schemes, blackmail via video calls, fake investment platforms, and rebate fraud, and drew an impressive 3.63 million views on launch day before being abruptly yanked.
Ye Fei, who served as both lead actor and screenwriter for the production, responded to the removal with a puzzled social media post questioning why the show was taken down so quickly after such a promising start. The 2023 court judgment from Qingdao Intermediate People's Court found him guilty of market manipulation, resulting in a three-year sentence and a fine of 500,000 yuan. A subsequent 2024 conviction related to cases involving two other listed companies extended his combined prison term to four years. He was released in September last year and spent less than twelve months outside before launching his entertainment career pivot.
The swift removal of the show appears connected to industry regulations restricting the participation of individuals with criminal records in artistic productions. Regulatory authorities in broadcasting and cultural tourism have established strict guidelines prohibiting those with major criminal records from serving as lead actors or core creative staff. While Ye Fei is not a traditional celebrity, his involvement as lead actor and screenwriter for the show made him its primary marketing draw, prompting the platform to remove it to maintain regulatory compliance.
Undeterred by the takedown, Ye Fei has since repositioned the series on other distribution channels including Feihu Film and his social media accounts. He is now developing a theatrical film version of the story, though this time he will restrict himself to screenwriting duties without appearing on camera. Two additional projects are in development: "Chasing Evidence" and "The Shanghai Traders," with the former already receiving approval for production. Notably, Ye Fei has acknowledged that current regulatory constraints mean he cannot appear in any acting capacity, so he will work exclusively behind the scenes to remain compliant.
Ye Fei's controversial history dates back decades. He entered the securities market at age 15 in 1994 and transitioned into private equity in 2003, winning the nation's top individual investor competition in 2007. His private fund, Yitian Investment, was later deregistered by the Asset Management Association of China for failing to maintain registration standards. His first brush with market manipulation penalties came in September 2015 when the China Securities Regulatory Commission confiscated 6.64 million yuan in illegal gains and fined him 19.91 million yuan over manipulating five stocks including Xinwei Group.
The event that would define his notoriety unfolded in May 2021 when he publicly accused multiple listed companies of engaging in fraudulent "market value management" schemes. His initial social media posts on May 14 prompted immediate regulatory action, with the CSRC announcing investigations into the named companies. That same evening during a livestream, Ye Fei identified several firms including ST Huayu, Visionox, Francetek, Haozhi Machinery, Oriental Fashion, and Longji Machinery, which netizens quickly dubbed the "Ye Fei exposure concept stocks."
The scandal unraveled into a web of accusations and counter-accusations. CMST responded to the allegations by reporting the matter to police. Xu Xiong, chairman of Oriental Fashion, received a sentence of six and a half years along with a 170 million yuan fine for market manipulation. Haozhi Machinery's chairman and executives faced fines exceeding 100 million yuan. The investigation ultimately ensnared several financial professionals including Guan Xuan, former deputy general manager of investment at Hengtai Asset Management.
Ye Fei's own legal troubles emerged from the same investigation. In September 2021, the CSRC revealed that an individual identified as "Ye Mou" had provided assistance to a market manipulation ring operating on Nanling Minbao's stock price. After confirming his involvement met criminal prosecution standards, police arrested him. By late 2023, the Qingdao court sentenced him to more than three years for market manipulation, and additional convictions in 2024 for cases involving other listed companies resulted in the combined four-year term.
During his incarceration, Ye Fei reportedly participated in a remorse ceremony at Rizhao Prison in May, expressing regret to China's 120 million stock investors and vowing to reform himself. He pledged to abandon his role in helping market manipulators but notably did not express regret for his 2021 whistleblowing, which he framed as "eliminating harm for the people and advancing social progress." He has stated intentions to restart both private equity and film ventures after his release, even entertaining the possibility of participating in compliant market value management services.
The broader significance of the Ye Fei case extends well beyond his personal trajectory. His public accusations exposed the shadowy infrastructure behind fraudulent "market value management" schemes. Wuhan University of Science and Technology professor Dong Dengxin noted that while legitimate market value management is permissible, using it as cover to collaborate with institutional investors to manipulate share prices constitutes criminal activity. Criminal defense lawyer Qian Lieyang observed that the concept of market value management had gradually been corrupted, with many practices potentially violating securities laws. Attorney Yang Zhaoquan similarly distinguishes legitimate market value enhancement through operational improvements from illegal activities like false restructuring and price manipulation, which violate regulations against false statements, insider trading, and market manipulation.
Ye Fei's story embodies a peculiar paradox: he participated in the very schemes he later exposed, and his own "dog-eat-dog" revelation initiated a regulatory chain reaction that removed corrupt executives and institutions from the market. His attempt to rebrand as an educator through the "King of Fraud" series, coupled with the immediate takedown of that same show, creates a fitting coda to his saga. The regulatory fingerprint left by his criminal history continues to follow him into his new career path.
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