Liu Qiandong, the founder and CEO of the multi-billion dollar e-commerce giant JD.com (JD  ), was detained by police last week after a student student at the University of Minnesota accused him of a sexual crime. Stock shares of JD.com dropped to a 19-month low in the US market following this announcement as investors considered the possible ramifications of a conviction.

The alleged victim is a female student at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. She claims that she was raped by Liu, who is studying at UoM's PhD residency program for tech executives, after a party. Charged with unspecified "criminal sexual conduct" - a crime that in Minnesota covers a wide range of nonconsensual sexual contact - Liu has since been released without having to pay bail, and is already back in China, continuing his scheduled public appearances.

Police in Minnesota have said that their investigation is still pending. They must evaluate their evidence and present their case file to prosecutors, who will determine whether and how Liu should be charged. In the worst case scenario for Liu, if he is charged with first-degree felony rape - the highest level of sexual assault charge in the state of Minnesota - under state law, a charge and conviction could result in 30 years in prison for Liu, and untold ramifications for his company.

Liu's lawyer, Earl Gray, does not expect his client to face charges. Gray claims that there is no "believable or credible evidence" that Liu has done anything wrong, nor does Liu admit to any wrongdoing. The Minneapolis local police department states that the investigation is still underway.

Liu Qiandong founded his first business in his third year of college at Renmin University, and started his career selling computer accessories in a Beijing technology district. Since then, Liu's businesses have grown tremendously in both scale and profits. Liu claims that his decision to begin selling goods online was first triggered by the 2002 and 2003 outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome. At the time, many Chinese were fearful of leaving their houses and going out to make purchases.

JD.com's early success enabled it to gain an foothold in the competitive Chinese e-commerce space, with rivals like the formidable Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA  ). JD.com's market edge comes from its focus on selling high-quality merchandise, and steering clear of counterfeit, cheap goods, which are Alibaba's bread and butter. That said, sources external to JD.com claim that the company has managed only one profitable quarter since going public in May 2014. (In contrast, the company's annual statement proclaimed a net profit of 50.8 billion yuan, or $7.8 billion in the 2017 fiscal year.)

JD.com's most recent quarter resulted in a $334 million loss, and a 2018 fall in share prices of 25%. In spite of Liu's optimistic public promises to investors, analysts claim that the company has posted close to 14 years of losses -- hence, its founder's words are most likely empty promises. Liu's net worth has been estimated to be between $7 and $10 billion by varying sources. He is ranked as the 16th wealthiest Chinese citizen and the 140th wealthiest person worldwide. JD consists of over 160,000 staff and 300 million active annual customers. It counts Tencent Holdings Ltd. (HKG: 0700) and Walmart Inc. (WMT  ) among its backers, but lags a distant second behind the leading player, Alibaba, in the realm of Chinese e-commerce.