Attorney Shao Shiwei | Sharing Experience from Successful Cases | How to Quickly Find a Reliable Lawyer in the Event of a Sudden Criminal Case? What Can Family Members Do to Help?

One morning, Mrs. Wang and her family were sitting around the dining table having breakfast, preparing to take their child to kindergarten shortly thereafter. On what seemed like an ordinary day, there was suddenly a rapid knock at the door.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

When Mr. Wang opened the door, three or four uniformed law enforcement officers immediately appeared before him. One of them presented his police identification and stated, “We are officers from the XX Public Security Bureau. You are suspected of fraud and are required to cooperate with our investigation.” Before Mrs. Wang could fully comprehend what was happening, cold handcuffs were placed on Mr. Wang’s wrists, and he was taken away.

The door slammed shut, leaving Mrs. Wang standing motionless in shock, while their child cried loudly in fear.

“How is this possible?” Her mind went blank. She could not understand how her husband, who was usually honest, law-abiding, and never caused trouble, could be suspected of fraud.

Forcing herself to remain calm, she settled the child and immediately went to the local police station to inquire about the situation. However, the officers informed her that, because this was a criminal case, she was not permitted to see her husband at that time. She waited outside the police station for two days, until she finally received a Detention Notice, which clearly stated that Mr. Wang was suspected of the crime of fraud.

What is even more distressing is that the local police station officers candidly admitted that they themselves were unclear as to the exact reasons for Mr. Wang’s arrest. They were merely assisting in the execution of duties, while the actual case-handling authority was located in a small fifth-tier city in Yunnan Province. Currently, Mr. Wang has been temporarily detained at the local detention center, awaiting the arrival of officers from the other jurisdiction to conduct interrogations. However, the local authorities have not yet received any information regarding when the Yunnan police will arrive.

It was only at this point that Mrs. Wang learned that only lawyers are permitted to enter the detention center to meet with her husband. She felt somewhat at a loss, having spent recent years at home caring for their children with minimal social engagement; consequently, there was not a single lawyer’s contact number in her phone. Where could she find a competent lawyer who could genuinely assist her husband?

She suddenly recalled Mr. Zhao, a long-time friend of her husband, known for his integrity and extensive worldly experience. With a mindset of giving it a try, she called Mr. Zhao. Upon understanding the situation, Mr. Zhao immediately began making inquiries and facilitating introductions, ultimately connecting us with the family.

During our initial communication with Mrs. Wang, given that the family members were unaware of the specific conduct Mr. Wang was suspected of, we, as his legal counsel, needed to provide continuous guidance to help the client recall and reconstruct the relevant facts to the greatest extent possible.

We asked, “Has Mr. Wang had any contact with strangers recently? Has he participated in any large-value transactions?”

Mrs. Wang stated that she had also been reflecting on these matters over the past few days. She emphasized that her husband is a person who treats his family and friends very well, conducts himself honestly in daily life, and would absolutely not engage in defrauding others. The only abnormality she could recall was that last month, Mr. Wang had informed her that he had sold a certain amount of USDT, a type of virtual asset.

We continued to guide the family members to further recall and supplement details. After an evening of in-depth communication, we learned that due to his father’s cancer surgery, Mr. Wang had been under significant financial pressure recently. Last month, he liquidated a portion of his held bitcoin. However, Mrs. Wang was unclear about the specific transaction process, details, and the identity of the counterparty.

Upon hearing this, we were able to make a preliminary assessment: It is highly likely that during this process of selling USDT, Mr. Wang inadvertently received fraud-involved funds from the counterparty. Coincidentally, a victim had filed a report, and the small fifth-tier city in Yunnan Province was most likely the location where the victim filed the report.

Based on the preliminary clues regarding the case, we promptly initiated our preparations. Attorney Gao Mengyang from our team was urgently deployed and swiftly formulated a detailed meeting plan, including a list of questions for the meeting, a preliminary legal analysis, and several response strategies tailored to potential developments in the case. Subsequently, Attorney Gao departed for the detention center to prepare for the meeting with Mr. Wang.

When we met Mr. Wang at the detention center, he had already been detained for two weeks. Due to the delayed arrival of the Yunnan police and the fact that the local public security organs had not conducted any substantive interrogations, Mr. Wang remained unclear as to why he had been criminally detained, leaving him extremely confused.

The lawyer asked, “Did you dispose of a substantial amount of USDT last month?”

Mr. Wang slapped his thigh in sudden realization: “So that’s what this is about!” Yet he also asked, perplexed, “Attorney Gao, Iwas so careful, and this was a routine cash-out. How could I be implicated?”

Through further communication, we obtained additional details. Mr. Wang is the owner of a restaurant and holds a master’s degree. He began engaging in virtual asset investments several years ago but remained highly cautious. As a long-term holder, he only made regular purchases of bitcoin and, for many years, only deposited funds without ever withdrawing.

However, due to operational difficulties in the catering industry over the past two years and a major family emergency—his elderly parent required cancer surgery—combined with mortgage payments and other expenses, Mr. Wang faced temporary liquidity constraints. Consequently, he considered liquidating a small portion of his bitcoin holdings. He first transferred bitcoin from the OKX platform to the Binance exchange, and then completed a cash-out transaction through a five-star merchant specifically sourced on Binance. The counterparty transferred RMB 500,000, representing the corresponding consideration, into Mr. Wang’s bank account.

Although the police had not yet interrogated Mr. Wang at the time of our legal consultation, based on the accounts provided by Mr. and Mrs. Wang and our extensive experience handling similar cases, we preliminarily determined that the likely reason for Mr. Wang’s criminal detention was the inadvertent receipt of proceeds derived from criminal activity during the cash-out process.

On this basis, we formulated a detailed legal analysis and response strategy for Mr. Wang. A few days later, police officers from Yunnan Province arrived locally to formally interrogate Mr. Wang. As we had anticipated, the case was indeed related to that virtual asset transaction.

Thanks to thorough preparatory work, Mr. Wang was able to respond calmly during the interrogation and clearly articulate his position: the transaction was a routine virtual asset trade, and he had no subjective intent to assist in fraud or facilitate money laundering. Nevertheless, we had previously advised Mr. Wang that, in judicial practice, even unintentional involvement in transactions involving illicit funds often results in authorities being reluctant to release suspects. Therefore, Mr. Wang was mentally prepared for this outcome.

Following the interrogation, Mr. Wang was transferred to a local detention center in Yunnan Province for continued custody. However, as we had communicated extensively with Mr. Wang and his family, they had realistic expectations and understood that the critical phase of the matter was just beginning.

After Mr. Wang was taken to Yunnan, Attorney Gao and Mrs. Wang immediately traveled there. Through communications with the handling officers, we gradually learned the broader context of the case:

It transpired that the case originated from a local wealthy businessman being defrauded, involving a substantial amount, which attracted significant attention from the public security organs. The case has been classified as a major cross-provincial online fraud investigation under the unified deployment of higher-level public security authorities. Currently, more than 300 individuals involved nationwide have been arrested and are all detained in the local detention center. Furthermore, we understand that this detention center has a maximum capacity of 6,000 inmates; therefore, there is no consideration of releasing some detainees due to overcrowding.

During our communications with the police, we also expressed our views: Mr. Wang merely sold his held virtual assets in a normal transaction, did not participate in the fraud, and certainly did not collude with the fraudsters, so there is no basis for alleging accomplice liability. He should not be categorically treated as a suspect simply because he unfortunately received funds that were proceeds of crime.

In response, the handling officer stated:

"I understand what you are saying and agree with your viewpoint. However, this case is not for me alone to decide. We are currently traveling across the country to make arrests, having already brought back hundreds of individuals who are all detained here. It is impossible to release only you without cause. If you wish to apply for bail pending trial, it is simple—you must return the RMB 500,000 in proceeds of crime that you received."

The police characterized the RMB 500,000 obtained by Mr. Wang through normal trading as "proceeds of crime" and demanded full restitution. However, these funds were from Mr. Wang's sale of USDT. Characterizing this sum as illegal gains or "proceeds of crime" is unacceptable to both Mr. Wang and his wife under any circumstances. Moreover, upon receipt, these funds were used by Mr. Wang to repay prior consumer loans (for medical expenses). He is currently unable to produce this amount.

At this point, Mr. Wang had been detained in the detention center for nearly three weeks. The realistic choices facing the client and his family were:

Either restitute the RMB 500,000 to strive for bail pending trial, or remain in detention and await the court's final judgment.

Although the preliminary conclusion from this communication with the police was that "releases would not be granted easily," we did not come away empty-handed. As counsel, we obtained a key piece of information: the police's current investigative approach toward Mr. Wang was highly consistent with our assessment of the case strategy made during our initial communication with Mr. Wang, even when we did not yet possess the specific case details. This means that the legal characterization of the case and its potential trajectory have not deviated from our predictions, which is crucial for our subsequent response.

How should we proceed? We decided to adopt a dual-track strategy, combining firmness with flexibility.

On one hand, we drafted a detailed legal opinion addressing the factual and legal bases for why Mr. Wang's conduct did not constitute a crime, submitting it to the relevant leaders of the Public Security Bureau, while simultaneously exerting continuous pressure through petition channels. On the other hand, we advised Mrs. Wang to engage with the handling officers in her capacity as a family member. With our assistance, she clearly articulated the family's hardships, Mr. Wang's character, and the impact of this incident on the family—ensuring that the handling personnel saw, from both rational and emotional perspectives, that Mr. Wang was merely an ordinary person mistakenly entangled in the matter.

We will not elaborate on every detail of the maneuvering during the case handling process, but it can be said that each step was arduous. From multiple rounds of rigorous confrontations between counsel and the handling personnel, to Mr. Wang's steadfast endurance in the detention center, and to Mrs. Wang's coordinated efforts with counsel to advance the matter step by step, we continuously exerted effort from the three dimensions of law, procedure, and equity.

Finally, just last week,without making any restitution or compensation,we obtained the hard-won decision on release on bail pending trial within 30 days. Mr. Wang was finally released from the detention center.

There is often a gap between ideal expectations and reality. Rights must be actively asserted; even reasonable claims may require persistent effort in practice before there is any possibility of successful protection of rights. It is precisely because we have seen numerous cases in which release on bail pending trial was denied unless restitution or compensation was made that we appreciate how hard-won this interim victory in the present case truly is.

The purpose of this article is to help friends who have not yet encountered criminal cases to prepare in advance—so that if such situations unfortunately arise in the future, they will know how to prevent risks and how to respond.

From this case, we can draw an important lesson. Why was Mr. Wang able to “overcome each hurdle as it arose”? A key reason was “harmonious human relations”—Mr. Wang and Mrs. Wang placed full trust in each other and in their lawyers, and they followed the lawyers’ advice step by step, coordinating effectively. This coordination is of considerable importance.

Why do we say this? Here we must mention a case that stands in stark contrast to the present one and is somewhat regrettable.

Last year, our firm took on the case of a programmer who was implicated because the platform where he had previously worked was involved in legal issues, resulting in his detention in a detention center. His girlfriend found our team through online channels. After meeting with the client in the detention center, our lawyers learned that there was no dispute that the platform’s business model was suspected of constituting pyramid selling. The client had resigned several years earlier due to concerns about risk, but unexpectedly he was arrested several years later. Accordingly, he acknowledged the facts underlying the allegations and expressed his willingness to plead guilty and disgorge any illegal gains, hoping to secure release on bail pending trial as soon as possible so as to avoid affecting his current employment. Before being detained, he had even contacted a friend to help him request a few days of leave from his employer as a temporary measure.

However, after we explained our understanding of the platform’s business model to the client’s girlfriend and his parents, his girlfriend was able to understand and accept it, but his mother firmly opposed her son’s pleading guilty and making restitution. The mother insisted that her child had been exemplary in character and academics since childhood, had received scholarships multiple times, and had been working in a major city after graduation; therefore, he could not have engaged in unlawful or criminal conduct. She believed that if her son were truly guilty, the matter should be adjudicated by the court. In addition, because the girlfriend shared our view, the mother harbored significant resentment toward her, and ultimately refused further communication.

Ultimately, because no restitution was made during the critical “golden 37 days,” the client remains in custody. Admittedly, we can understand the mother’s love for her child; it is exceedingly difficult for an elderly person with limited formal education to comprehend why a Web3 project in which her son once participated might be suspected of constituting pyramid selling. Yet at times I wonder whether the client might blame his mother. By the time he is released after a year or more, he may have lost his job and his long-term girlfriend. In criminal cases, situations like this are not uncommon.

In many cases, the person who encounters trouble is often the family’s primary breadwinner, yet their fate is frequently determined by elderly parents with only a partial understanding of the case, or by stay-at-home mothers who have been out of the workforce for an extended period. Admittedly, the love these relatives have for their family members is beyond doubt. Regrettably, due to limited awareness, they struggle to identify truly professional and reliable lawyers for the client. All too often, whether family members can find lawyers who are diligent and responsible toward the client and the case depends largely on chance.

Moreover, even when professional lawyers are engaged, progress in the case is often impeded by differences in understanding, communication barriers, and lack of trust. Family members may not understand the lawyers’ professional advice or may be unwilling to cooperate in its implementation, causing them to miss the optimal window for action and making it difficult to advance the case smoothly.

Therefore, for clients, if we regularly communicate with our families about our work responsibilities, the projects we have undertaken, and the people we have interacted with—especially when working in emerging industries or areas with ambiguous legal boundaries—and help our families understand early on the environment in which we operate and the potential risks, then, should an unexpected situation arise, our families will not be left confused or entirely without control. They will also be more likely to understand why you have engaged a particular lawyer or placed trust in certain friends, and thus will be more willing to cooperate with professionals in making response decisions.

As with Mr. Wang and Mrs. Wang in this case, it was precisely their high level of mutual trust and trust in their lawyers that enabled them to maintain coordination during the crisis and jointly endure this difficult period. Such trust is not built overnight; it arises from day-to-day communication.

In closing, we sincerely wish to remind everyone: we hope you never need a lawyer in your lifetime, but if possible, cultivate a relationship with a trustworthy lawyer friend as a precaution for unforeseen circumstances. Do not wait until a crisis strikes only to discover that you are unprepared and have no one to turn to for help.

In daily life, you can also spend some time learning basic legal knowledge, so that when faced with sudden criminal risks, you can remain calm, avoid being misled, and possess sufficient judgment and psychological preparedness. This will better enable you to protect yourself and your family.