TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Changhua District Court on Thursday sentenced Malaysian influencer Ady Hu (許振文) to six months in prison for working as a money mule.

Appeals against the prison term are still possible, per CNA. Hu, 31, arrived in Taiwan in December but soon went missing, leading to his relatives holding a news conference in Malaysia to ask police to help find him.

Police in Yuanlin, Changhua County, said they had arrested a foreign national on Dec. 11 who had been working as a money mule for a fraud ring. They later confirmed the suspect was Hu.

The fraudsters had asked a potential investor for NT$2.88 million (US$87,800) up front, but the victim suspected he was being set up. He informed the police and they set up a meeting with the scammers at a coffee shop with a suitcase full of toy money.

Hu posed as the representative of an investment company, but was arrested by undercover police officers when he took delivery of the fake cash. During the interrogation, Hu admitted he was receiving NT$20,000 from the fraud ring for his work.

The court said the Malaysian had not been a core member of the criminal group, and had immediately admitted his guilt. Nevertheless, his actions had harmed Taiwan’s social order, so he should be deported after serving his sentence.