LeEco assets worth $180m frozen by Chinese court over arrears
Assets worth $180m owned by LeEco's billionaire co-founder, Jia Yueting, his wife and three affiliates have been frozen by a Shanghai court after the company failed to pay interest due on bank loans taken out to fund its smartphone business, according to court documents. LeEco was once a tech success story in China, however, as the company branched out beyond smartphones, it spent far beyond its means and failed to sustain its revenues.
Chinese firm LeEco's downward spiral continues after unpaid debts lead a Shanghai court to freeze 1.2 billion yuan ($180 million) in assets owned by its subsidiaries, chairman and CEO Jia Yueting and his wife, according to various local media reports citing court documents.

The assets were originally pledged as collateral in 2015 for a 2.4 billion yuan loan, and cover bank deposits and other assets owned by subsidiaries including LeEco's main listed unit, LeShi Internet Information & Technology, LeShi Mobile Intelligence and LeView Mobile.

This is the latest blow to LeEco — once a tech darling success story in China, the firm's fortunes seem to be reversing almost as quickly as they rose. The company, founded by Jia, originally started as an online streaming site before quickly expanding its business into everything from smartphones to electric vehicles. The company even jumped overseas, launching in the U.S. and India.