BEIJING: Chinese celebrity Guo Meimei who gained notoriety for flaunting a jet-set lifestyle, apparently while working for a charity, was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday for running a casino, the Xinhua state news agency reported.

Guo hit the headlines in 2011 after posting photos online showing her in a Maserati sports car and carrying expensive handbags. At the time, she said she was general manager of an organisation under the Red Cross Society of China.

The charity denied any link to her. Guo’s extravagant lifestyle caused outrage and raised concern about mismanagement of charity funds, leading to a plunge in donations, according to media reports at the time. Guo was arrested in August 2014 and accused of running a casino. She was prosecuted in May.

She was also fined $7,840, Xinhua reported, citing a Beijing court ruling. Zhao Xiaolai, another suspect involved in the case, received a two-year sentence and was fined 20,000 yuan, the news agency reported.