(Yicai Global) Jan. 11 -- Suppliers of Leshi Mobile Intelligent Information Technology Beijing Co., a unit of the embattled LeEco brand, appealed yesterday to the wife and brother of group founder Jia Yueting to settle all of its CNY10 billion (USD1.53 billion) debt.

Many of the firms are going through difficult times and some have gone out of business, they said in a letter to Gan Wei and Jia Yuemin. Representatives from 27 suppliers have staged a sit-in protest at the group's offices for more than 200 days since November 2016.

Jia Yueting said early this month that he has entrusted his actress wife and elder sibling with handling, as he termed it, the "debt crisis" at Leshi Internet Information & Technology Corp., the listed arm of the byzantine LeEco group. It was his first public statement after the Beijing branch of the securities watchdog ordered him back to China before Dec. 31. Jia left for the US in July after stepping down as chairman of Leshi Internet.

Almost every supplier of Leshi Holding Co.'s mobile unit has mortgaged their home to pay bills and is keeping operations going on very tight money, the letter said. The family lives of employees are also affected, online news portal Sina said yesterday.

The LeEco group has sold some assets to repay part of its debts and will keep in touch with banks in an effort to unfreeze other assets to make further repayments, Gan said through social media on Jan. 7.

Founded in 2014, Leshi Mobile had sold about 30 million own-brand phones as of last June. But a capital chain collapse resulted in a production halt in July. After the LeEco group's finances went awry, Jia headed to the US and has not returned to China since. He said he would focus on developing Faraday & Future Inc., his California-based electric vehicle startup.