Yuehua Entertainment trainee Huang Zhibo has been arrested and kicked out of the agency after he was arrested due to the fraudulent sale of facemasks in China.
According to an exclusive report from Xportnews via several Chinese media outlets, Huang Zhibo was arrested on charges of fraud back on February 5. While he was not specifically named in the arrest, Chinese netizens identified Huang Zhibo based on his identification number, birthday, and Shanghai Pudong Police’s investigation video following the arrest. During the arrest, the police seized technology such as a cell phone and computer, as well as credit cards used.
The suspicions were confirmed after Yuehua Entertainment issued a statement stating Huang Zhibo is indeed under investigation and his trainee contract was terminated.
It is true that Huang Zhibo is involved in the case of alleged sales fraud, and we are cooperating with the police investigation. We have terminated his trainee contract, and we apologize for the negative impact he has had on the society.
— Yuehua Entertainment
According to the Chinese reports, Huang Zhibo allegedly accepted about ¥280,000 ($40,110 USD) in advance payment for facemasks, but did not show up at the agreed upon meeting place to hand over the facemasks. It was determined that Huang Zhibo did not actually have any facemasks to sell in the first place.
Just one week prior to his arrest, he posted a picture on his personal Weibo account, offering hope to the citizens of China who are currently struggling due to the Coronavirus.
Huang Zhibo was born in 1999 and reportedly, was a trainee under Big Hit Entertainment for a period of time. He joined Yuehua Entertainment in 2019 and then appeared on Chinese survival program All For One, where he ranked 9th place.
