The founder of Evergrande was sentenced to life in prison in a Chinese court Thursday, while dozens of others connected to the collapse of the real estate giant received lesser sentences. 

Hui Ka Yan, a former steel industry worker who became one of China’s richest men before his empire imploded, was sentenced for financial crimes related to the firm’s massive debt load on which it defaulted in 2021, triggering a debt crunch that spread across China’s housing sector and dragged down the broader economy. 

The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court sentenced the 67-year-old Thursday along with other senior executives and employees linked to financial crimes. More than 50 people, including Hui’s sons Xu Zhijian and Xu Tenghe, were sentenced to prison terms between 22 months and 18 years, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency, the Associated Press reported. 

Their former companies were fined a combined $2.4B, Bloomberg reported.

Evergrande was founded in 1996 and built a massive empire as China’s housing market roared to life, but it collapsed under a crushing debt burden in 2021 and was ordered to liquidate its assets in 2024. The majority of its assets had been either in default or some type of restructuring since 2021, leading to its access to credit being cut, according to The Economist.

Hui was convicted on charges related to engaging in large-scale financial fraud by inflating Evergrande’s assets and concealing its liabilities. The other 56 people sentenced were charged with illegally taking public deposits, fundraising fraud and the illegal use of funds, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

“The amount involved is exceptionally large, the circumstances are particularly egregious, and extraordinarily heavy economic losses have been caused,” the court said in a statement. “The harm to society is extremely serious. Therefore, severe punishment should be given in accordance with the law.”

Chinese investigators say they uncovered evidence that Evergrande manipulated its financial data by prematurely booking revenue from property sales and other tactics, overstating revenue in 2019 and 2020 by roughly $80B, according to the AP. 

The collapse of Evergrande came at the same time as a broader downturn across the Chinese housing sector that has pulled home prices down by more than 20% since 2021, the AP reported. The company’s high-profile demise briefly trickled into U.S. markets, with share prices for major landlords dipping for a time.

A financial report released in 2023 revealed that Evergrande lost roughly $81B across 2021 and 2022, although the losses had narrowed in 2022 to $15B. The company was ordered to liquidate in 2024 after years of negotiations with creditors failed to find a resolution. 

“The time is for the court to say enough is enough,” Judge Linda Chan of Hong Kong’s High Court said in a January 2024 order.