A court in Pingba District, Anshun, Guizhou, sentenced Zhao to seven months in prison and fined him 5,000 yuan after he used a fake crypto airdrop pitch to defraud an online acquaintance. Prosecutors said Zhao leveraged trust built through repeated discussions about virtual currency investing, then persuaded Zhang to put his remaining account funds into the purported opportunity by promising principal protection and a return of 100 to 200 U within two days. Zhang converted $1,757 into Ether and sent it through a wallet link Zhao provided, believing the money would go to a public chain address. The funds instead went to a personal account Zhao had registered using his girlfriend's identity information, according to the case details. After Zhang reported the matter to police on Sept. 7, the Pingba District People's Procuratorate brought a public prosecution on April 2 this year on suspicion of fraud. Prosecutors said Zhao concealed the truth to obtain another person's property in a relatively large amount. The court said mitigating factors included his truthful confession after being brought in, full repayment of the victim's losses, and voluntary admission of guilt and acceptance of punishment.