(Yicai Global) Jan. 3 -- Bosses at controversial Chinese herbal health product maker Quanjian Group could face up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of pyramid selling and false advertising, according to prominent lawyers in the country.

The Tianjin-based firm's management faces hefty punishment for the two separate charges, Zhang Xinnian, a legal practitioner at Jingsh Law Firm, told state-backed media outlet The Paper. Authorities in the northern municipality opened an investigation into the claims on Dec. 27.

The charge of running a pyramid scheme carries a jail sentence of at least five years along with a fine and authorities normally revoke business licenses in such cases. Those convicted of false advertising are incarcerated for up to two years and fined.

If upper management at Quanjian is found to have carried out pyramid selling as well as false advertising, they face a combined period of up to 25 years in prison, said Xie Ruisong, a lawyer at Beijing-based Dongwei Law Firm.

Formed in 2004, Quanjian faced questioning last month after a report claimed that the firm intervened in and delayed cancer treatment for a four-year-old girl named Zhou Yang, who eventually died.

WeChat-based media outlet Dianxiang Doctor, which broke the original story of Zhou's plight, accused the company of using pyramid schemes to brainwash users, while product distributors piled in with first-hand accounts of Quanjian's frenzied marketing meetings.

The company operates more than 7,000 branded therapeutic fire treatment centers and there have been around 20 burn accidents in recent years.

The Tianjin investigation team has shut down Quanjian's fire treatment centers that do not meet safety regulations and carried out intensive sweeps of illegal healthcare products.

Editor:  William Clegg