TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An extra in the Taiwanese gangster movie “Gatao” was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday (April 13) for his part in forcing 88 people to join a fraud ring in Cambodia.

Appeals against the sentence for Lee Chen-hao (李振豪), and against prison terms ranging from 11 years to 16 years and six months for eight accomplices, are still possible, the Liberty Times reported.

Lee, who was also a member of the Bamboo Union organized crime group when he joined the cast of the 2015 film, was found guilty of colluding with human traffickers in Cambodia to supply them with 88 Taiwanese forced to work for a fraud ring, though three escaped before leaving Taiwan.

The suspects received up to US$18,000 (NT$550,000) per victim, according to prosecutors. They were brought together in hotel rooms, and flown to Cambodia after they signed a contract. Once they arrived in the Southeast Asian country, they were distributed over several areas described as “scam parks,” where they were often mistreated, the report said.

The nine suspects were divided into two groups operating separately, with members assigned different tasks, including booking airline tickets and applying for visas, accompanying the victims to the airport, and organizing the accounting side of the fraud.

The Taipei District Court said that instead of finding normal work, they had formed an international human trafficking ring with the plan of earning high profits. The groups had restricted their victims’ freedom and put them in a situation where they were helpless to respond to threats of violence, judges said.

Four of the suspects, including Lee, denied all accusations, while the five others only admitted lighter offenses while trying to minimize their role in the organization, according to the report.