A total of 118 people were sentenced to imprisonment of up to 10 years after they were found guilty of organizing a pyramid fund raising scam, state media reported on Sunday.

The verdict was handed by the Nanning Intermediate People's Court in China's Guangxi Zhuang on Sunday after the court found enough evidence that would link the 118 people to the illegal pyramid activities.

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The defendants include leaders and top members of a syndicate running a pyramid scam that involved more than 100 million yuan (around US $16 million), Xinhua News Agency reported.

The court said that since 2009, the pyramid marketing network ran by the defendants had already signed up almost 5,000 members, with each member being asked to pay from 3,800 yuan (around US $600) to 70,000 yuan (US $11,000) in exchange of high profits and promotions.

Members of the said network were spread across China. Documents showed that members - the youngest at 26 and the oldest at 69 - came from various provinces and regions, including Xinjiang, Anhui, Shandong, Gansu and Sichuan.

The network managed to gather US $16 million from members until the pyramid ring was busted by authorities in April 2012.

China has banned pyramid schemes in 1998 but the activity continues to operate in less-developed regions of the country.

In November 2013, Yin Hong, the leader of largest online pyramid ring in China, was sentenced to three years in jail. He was also fined 300,000 yuan or around US $50,000.

Yin was the leader of nearly 10,900 members and his network had gathered US $46 million until it was busted in March 2013.