They were told that they would gain partial bond ownership and would very quickly receive large returns on their investments.
Additionally, they were given "participation agreements" which said if the sale failed then their funds would be returned within a certain period of time, and were told to wire funds into one of the many bank accounts he owned or control.
However, the bonds were historical Chinese ones, issued by the former Republic of China before it lost power to the communist government in 1949.
The bonds aren't recognized by China's current government and have no investment value whatsoever. In fact, they are considered to be collectibles by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
См. по ссылке, чья это стратегия.