Chinese court sentences swindler disguised as customs official

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, November 27, 2015
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A Chinese fraudster thought impersonating a government official would add a layer of credibility to his scam, but an east China court has decided to put him behind bars.

A court in Zhejiang Province on Wednesday sentenced a man to 16 years in prison for swindling his relatives and friends out of millions of yuan by pretending to be a customs official.

The 46-year-old man, surnamed Zheng, bought dozens of customs official uniforms and wore them over the past six years when meeting friends and relatives, claiming to be an anti-smuggling officer with the local customs.

From 2010 to 2015, Zheng borrowed a total of 6.23 million yuan (nearly 1 million U.S. dollars) from his relatives and friends and claimed that the money would be used for equity financing, funding a new company, investing in real estate, or simply buying someone a job at the customs administration.

But Zheng never used the money for the stated purposes, instead squandering it and using it to service his old debts, according to the court's decision.

In addition to the 16-year prison sentence, Zheng was also fined 5.2 million yuan.

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