Renowned mainland Chinese host Zhu Dan once revealed in a program that she had fallen victim to a major financial fraud due to trusting a friend, resulting in the loss of tens of millions of assets. Recently, there have been new developments in the case.
On July 17, legal litigation information on the Tianyancha platform showed that Zhu Dan’s friend Tian Xiaomi was involved in a contract dispute, unjust enrichment, and improper profit related to Zhu Dan, with an execution target amounting to 16.11 million yuan (RMB), as executed by the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing.
The information indicates that the case dates back to July 2016 when Tian Xiaomi and the jointly operated Beijing Pincheng Yuehui Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. were listed as dishonest executed persons, subject to high consumption restrictions. The case was once marked as final (concluding the execution).
On November 28, 2023, Zhu Dan recounted on a mainland variety show called “Love Study Tour” that about eight to nine years ago, out of trust in her friend Tian Xiaomi, she signed on a blank paper as a witness, which unexpectedly turned into the beginning of her financial nightmare.
At that time, Tian Xiaomi told Zhu Dan that she encountered financial difficulties during filming and had issues with fund turnover, claiming to have found a lender and requested Zhu Dan to be a witness in a loan transaction. Subsequently, Tian Xiaomi had Zhu Dan sign on the blank paper through mail, assuring that the document contents would be completed later. However, it was this signature on the blank paper that became the legal basis for Zhu Dan being forced to assume her friend’s huge debt, ultimately leading to her personal savings being wiped out.
Although Zhu Dan promptly took legal action, successfully sued, and won the case, due to Tian Xiaomi’s bankruptcy announcement, Zhu Dan had to bear all the economic losses on her own. In the program, Zhu Dan expressed that throughout the process, the other party never expressed any remorse, leaving her deeply hurt.
In response to Zhu Dan’s public statement, Tian Xiaomi had previously responded, insisting that the information circulated online severely deviated from the facts and had hired a lawyer to protect her rights. According to publicly available information from the Chinese Enforcement Information Disclosure Network, the amount Zhu Dan paid in advance was 16 million yuan, which the executed party Tian has yet to fulfill the repayment obligation.
Meanwhile, the company involved, “Beijing Pincheng Yuehui Cultural Communication Co., Ltd.” had its business license revoked. Public information shows that the company was listed on the abnormal operation list and had its license revoked in July 2018 and May 2019, respectively, due to failure to disclose annual reports as required and violations of company registration management regulations.
The incident has sparked widespread public concern about the legal risks of signing documents. Zhu Dan specifically warned the public in the program not to sign documents without understanding the content, including refraining from signing on blank papers and adding watermarks when copying identification documents. It is crucial to be cautious about serving as a guarantor for someone else’s debt.
Regretful Zhu Dan explained in court that she was deceived because she confused the concepts of a witness and a guarantor. Professional lawyers emphasize that before signing on contracts involving private borrowing, one must carefully review the contract terms, especially when acting as a witness, ensuring that the contract does not contain any statements that could potentially make them a guarantor.