Fake Qing Dynasty princess jailed for $500,000 scam
A deceptive mix of fake princess, bogus treasure maps and counterfeit gold helped a farmer con people out of 2.3million yuan (S$512,000).
South China Morning Post reported that Wang Fengying had told those that she had tricked that she was Princess Changping, a descendant of China’s Aisin Gioro, the family name of the Manchu emperors that ruled the country during the Qing dynasty (1644 -1911).
Wang is actually a farmer from Henan, China.
In 2013, she teamed up with an accomplice and began to cheat people of their money until she was caught in July 2014.
In her home, authorities found 41 gold bars, thousands in fake cash and 'treasure maps that Wang offered to investors as collateral'.
On Monday (Sept 7), she was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 13 and a half years' jail.
Her accomplice was sentenced to 12 years.
IOL News reported that she was also ordered by the court to repay all the money that she had swindled from her victims.
SET-UP
The elaborate con saw her accomplice set up a companyand hold a grand ceremony where she attended as a guest in her princess guise.
According to China.org.cn, Wang told all the people who attended the event that she was very rich but her gold bars were all locked away by mainland authorities.
She asked attendees for money so that she could bribe officials to return the gold and other assets.
Wang claimed that once her assets were returned, she would sell them off for a huge profit. She would then return three times the amount loaned.
Source: IOL News, South China Morning Post, China.org.cn
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