Need to be returned. Private lending disputes are civil cases and will not involve imprisonment. However, if private lending is decided by the people's court, and the parties have no reason to refuse to perform the judgment, they may be suspected of refusing to perform the judgment and ruling a criminal offence. Once convicted, they may go to jail. Legal basis: Article 242nd of the Civil Procedure Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), if the person subjected to execution fails to perform the obligations specified in the legal documents according to the notice of execution, the people's court has the right to inquire about the deposits, bonds, stocks, fund shares and other properties of the person subjected to execution. The people's court has the right to seal up, freeze, transfer or change the property of the person subjected to execution according to different circumstances. The property inquired, sealed up, frozen, transferred or changed in price by the people's court shall not exceed the scope of obligations that the person subjected to execution shall perform. When the people's court decides to seal up, freeze, transfer or change the price of property, it shall make a ruling and issue a notice of assistance in execution, which the relevant units must handle. Article 244 If the person subjected to execution fails to perform the obligations specified in the legal document according to the notice of execution, the people's court has the right to seal up, detain, freeze, auction or sell off the property that the person subjected to execution should perform. However, the necessities of life of the person subjected to execution and his dependents shall be retained. The people's court shall make a ruling on taking the measures mentioned in the preceding paragraph.