Police in Hebei province arrested four core members of a gang in April suspected of illegal recruitment and scams in 19 provinces and cities, according to a report by Hebei Daily on Thursday.

The gang, headed by Peng Shuixiu, is alleged to have recruited more than 300 members in the name of practicing qigong, a Chinese martial art, since 2001.

Peng, a 60-year-old resident of Hunan province, and her accomplices swindled people out of large amounts of money as fees to rid themselves of evil, police said.

The group, which was listed as illegal in 1999, collected 50 million yuan ($8 million) from followers in 2013, of which 30 million yuan came from Hebei province, police said.

Peng admitted she hired agents in 19 provinces and cities to convince people to pay fees, which she then spent on properties in Beijing and other cities as well as other luxuries such as cars.