BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court has jailed for 17 years a businessman who ran a 100 billion yuan pyramid scheme and organized a rare street protest in Beijing against police investigations into his activities, state media reported.

Zhang Tianming and nine other staff from his company, Shenzhen-based Shan Xin Hui, were found guilty in a hearing on Friday of running a multi-level marketing company and of disturbing social order.

Shuangpai County People’s Court in central Hunan province handed Zhang a 17-year jail sentence and a 100 million yuan fine after he used social media to organize a public protest involving more than 600 people from his marketing platform, state broadcaster CCTV reported late on Friday.

The investors took to the streets of the capital in July last year, holding banners and shouting slogans, which obstructed and defied police work, the court said.

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