[Direct answer]The core process of criminal prosecution consists of four steps: First, sort out the evidence such as transfer records, chat logs, and contract certificates to form a chain of evidence; Second, draft the "Criminal Complaint" and the "Evidence List", stating the charges and constituting elements; Third, submit the materials to the public security organ with jurisdiction and make a statement in person; Fourth, the public security organ shall review the materials in accordance with Article 112 of the Criminal Procedure Law (amended on October 26, 2018). If there are criminal facts that require criminal responsibility to be investigated, a case shall be filed; if not, the public security organ may issue a written notice and the complainant may apply for a review or supervision by the procuratorate. For more information on the process and solutions, please consult us.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingAndBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

After being defrauded by acquaintances, encountering extortion, or facing investment and financial fraud, the most practical path for victims is to file a criminal complaint, but in practice, they often hit a wall: some are persuaded to withdraw their complaints on the grounds of "economic disputes"; others face difficulties in accepting their cases due to scattered evidence and confused factual accounts; and some wait for months without receiving any response. Typical scenarios include: acquaintances borrowing money but not repaying it, but providing false reasons for the use of the funds; extortion by threatening means; embezzlement of company funds; and investment platforms promising guaranteed high returns but subsequently disappearing. Filing a criminal case is the starting point for accountability and damage recovery, but failure to file a case often means that victims must go through a lengthy civil litigation process and may miss the best opportunity to freeze assets and force repayment.

II. Key points of contention

  • The boundary between economic disputes and criminal offenses: Fraud, extortion, and civil fraud appear similar, and it is necessary to prove the elements of illegal possession, fabrication of facts, or threats and coercion, which is the core of the case review.
  • The integrity of the evidence chain: Disparate transfer records and chat logs are insufficient to support the accusations. It is necessary to supplement fixed evidence and organize the timeline so that the prosecutor can quickly understand the crime's context.
  • Remedies for non-filing of a case: When an application is not accepted or a case is not filed, the applicant may request a written notice, apply for a review, or apply to the procuratorate for case filing supervision in accordance with Article 113 of the Criminal Procedure Law.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

In September 2021, Yang Hua from Tianjin needed to buy a second-hand car for commuting and entrusted his nephew's son-in-law, Han Xiaoshan, to handle the transaction. Han Xiaoshan lied by claiming that he could handle the vehicle transfer, demanding a 50,000 yuan transfer fee and a 30,000 yuan deposit. After that, he repeatedly delayed the process with false excuses such as network failures, pandemic quarantines, and connections with influential people, and continued to extort hundreds of thousands of yuan. From April 2023, he extorted hundreds of thousands of yuan under the guise of "resolving the matter" and continued to demand about 2 million yuan related to traffic accidents. In November 2023, he threatened to extort 500,000 yuan by claiming that it was illegal to withdraw housing provident fund. By the time the case was exposed, Yang Hua had been defrauded and extorted for a total of 3,126,999 yuan. Yang Hua first consulted several law firms, most of which advised him to pursue civil litigation. Later, he entrusted attorney Yuan Hang from Henglu Law Firm, who concluded that Han Xiaoshan's actions constituted fraud and extortion and recommended pursuing criminal charges against him.

Attorney Yuan Hang sorted and analyzed the massive transfer records and chat logs, supplemented with fixed evidence to form a complete chain of accusations, drafted the "Criminal Complaint Letter" and "Evidence List", and argued that Han Xiaoshan committed fraud under Article 266 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China by deceptively fabricating facts to make Yang Hua mistakenly dispose of his property; at the same time, he used threats and coercion to forcibly demand property, constituting extortion under Article 274. Han Xiaoshan's side denied the crime on the grounds of receiving money for handling transfer and "resolving disputes", attempting to classify the money dispute as a civil matter. The lawyer accompanied Yang Hua to submit materials to the public security organ and explained the relevance of the evidence one by one. The public security organ accepted the materials on the same day, and officially initiated an investigation within three weeks. Han Xiaoshan has now been detained, and criminal compulsory measures have created conditions for subsequent repayment of illicit gains and compensation. 袁航律师对海量转账记录、聊天记录进行整理分析，补充固定证据形成完整控告链条，起草《刑事控告书》与《证据目录》，论证韩小衫以欺骗手段虚构事实使杨华陷入错误认识处分财产，构成《中华人民共和国刑法》第266条诈骗罪；同时以非法占有为目的，使用威胁要挟方法强行索要财物，构成第274条敲诈勒索罪。韩小衫一方则以办理过户、“平事”等名义收款为由否认犯罪，试图将款项争议归入民事范畴。律师陪同杨华向公安机关递交材料并逐一阐释证据关联性。公安机关当日受理，不到三周正式立案侦查，韩小山现已被羁押，刑事强制措施也为后续退赃退赔创造了条件。

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018) stipulates that victims have the right to report and file complaints to the public security organ, the procuratorate or the court regarding the criminal facts that infringe their personal and property rights. Where the case does not fall within their jurisdiction, they shall transfer it to the competent authority and notify the complainant; Article 112 stipulates that the complaint materials shall be promptly reviewed. Where it is found that there are criminal facts that need to be investigated for criminal responsibility, a case shall be filed; Articles 266 and 274 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on March 14, 1997) respectively stipulate the crimes of fraud and extortion. At the practical advice level: Before filing a complaint, fix the evidence, preserve the original transfer records and chat records, and organize the timeline; Write the complaint clearly stating the identity of the accused, the criminal facts, the charge and the legal basis, and avoid emotional expressions; Submit the complaint to the public security organ of the crime scene; Where the complaint is not filed, request the issuance of a "Notice of Non-Filing of a Case" and apply for review or request the procuratorate to file a case for supervision. After the case is filed, the recovery of the illegally obtained money and the enforcement can be combined with the above-mentioned procedures.Creditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesCoordinate and advance the work in an integrated manner; for advice on the design of prosecution plans, please feel free to consult us.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingTeam.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Advice

Criminal charges are a technical task: with the same case facts, different organization of evidence and argumentation of charges may lead to vastly different results in case filing. For those who have had their reports of cases rejected more than twice, it is recommended that they not resubmit the same materials repeatedly, but instead entrust lawyers to review the evidence and adjust the charging strategy, for example, from a single charge of fraud to a concurrent charge of fraud and extortion. The above-mentioned case involving 312,000 yuan in charges was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Yuan HangThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101202110286151, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as an agent. The public security organ accepted the case on the same day and filed it within three weeks. The suspect has been detained. If you are preparing to report the case or have encountered a situation where the case was not accepted, it is recommended to evaluate the prosecution plan as soon as possible.

Q1: What should I do if I'm scammed and report it to the police, but they refuse to open a case?

First, clarify the reasons for not filing a case: if the materials are incomplete, supplement the transfer records, chat logs, and clues to the other party's identity and resubmit them; if it is considered an "economic dispute", evidence of the illegal possession intention must be supplemented, such as fictitious purposes, squandering funds, and going missing to evade responsibility. According to Article 112 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018), the public security organ shall promptly review the complaint materials and, if it considers that there are criminal facts requiring criminal responsibility, it shall file a case; if it decides not to file a case, it shall notify the complainant of the reasons for not filing a case. If the complainant disagrees, he may apply for a review or file a complaint with the people's procuratorate in accordance with Article 113, and the procuratorate shall require the public security organ to explain the reasons for not filing a case. If the reasons are unfounded, the procuratorate shall notify the public security organ to file a case.

Q2: What materials are needed to prepare a criminal complaint?

The basic materials include three parts: First, the "Criminal Complaint", which states the identity information of the complainant and the accused, the time and place of the crime, the suspected crime and the legal basis; Second, evidence materials, such as contract agreements, transfer records, chat records, and documentary evidence. It is recommended to make an "Evidence List" and annotate the purpose of each item; Third, the complainant's identity certificate. Evidence should be provided in the form of originals or original carriers as much as possible. Chat records should retain the complete context, and financial transactions and key dialogues should be corresponded with each other. After the materials are complete, they should be submitted to the competent authority in accordance with Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Law. The goal is to enable the case handler to understand "who did what and what crime was committed" in a short time. Lengthy and emotional descriptions will instead affect the efficiency of acceptance.

Q3: Can the money be recovered after a criminal case has been filed?

There's a chance. After the suspect is subject to compulsory measures, they are often more motivated to return the illicit gains and compensate for the losses in order to seek lenient treatment; the public security organ can also legally seize, detain, and freeze the involved property and order the suspect to return the illegal proceeds. In practice, the effectiveness of recovering losses depends on three factors: the earlier the report is made and the property is controlled, the less funds will be transferred and squandered; the more accurate the charges are, the clearer the scope of the involved property will be; and the more actively the victim communicates with the case-handling organ and submits evidence of the losses in a timely manner. In the aforementioned case involving 312,000 yuan, the suspect was under detention and thus faced substantial pressure to return the illicit gains. If the compensation is not paid after the criminal proceedings end, the victim can also file a civil lawsuit or apply for enforcement separately, and the two approaches can be used in conjunction with each other.

Q4: How to distinguish between economic disputes and fraud?

The key point is whether the perpetrator acts with the purpose of illegal possession and uses deception and concealment to make the victim mistakenly dispose of their property. In civil disputes, both parties have a genuine transaction basis, but their ability or willingness to fulfill their obligations may change; fraud is characterized by fabricating identities and purposes, squandering and transferring funds after obtaining them, and going missing to evade responsibility, which corresponds to Article 266 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China; and forcing others to pay money by threats and coercion may constitute the crime of extortion under Article 274. For cases that fall between the two categories, the nature of the case can be determined through evidence such as the flow of funds, the parties' performance of obligations, and their attitudes after the event. This is precisely the core work of professional lawyers in the prosecution stage and also the dividing line between successful and unsuccessful cases.

Q5: When is the best time for a criminal defense lawyer to get involved?

It is best to report the case beforehand. Lawyers can complete three tasks before submitting the materials: assessing the crime constituted by the case, ensuring the completeness of the evidence chain, and avoiding wasting the opportunity for acceptance with incorrect charges or incomplete materials; drafting professional "Criminal Charges" and "Evidence Catalogs" to increase the success rate of first-time acceptance and case filing; accompanying the client to report the case and communicating with the handling department about the relevance of the evidence. In the aforementioned case, the public security organ accepted the case on the same day after the lawyer took over, and the case was filed within three weeks. For cases that have been rejected for acceptance, lawyers can also change the charging approach, apply for a review, or initiate procuratorial supervision to avoid procedural stagnation. Lawyer's fees are generally charged by stages or per case, subject to the terms of the written contract.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm