Chinese Man Pretends To Be Rich, Tricks Five Women Into Funding His Luxury Lifestyle

A surprising case from Shanghai has revealed how a homeless man managed to deceive several women by pretending to be wealthy. Over just 10 days, he convinced five women to spend money on him while he visited expensive places, bought new clothes, and even obtained the latest smartphone, reported South China Morning Post.

Police uncovered the scam after a woman filed a report, leading to shocking details about how the man carried out his plan. In August, police in Shanghai's Putuo District received a complaint from a woman who identified herself as Liu Qian. She said a 36-year-old man, Chen, posing as a nightclub owner, defrauded her.

According to Liu, the previous day she had explored the city with Chen, dining out, and visiting several entertainment venues. Chen had promised to give her 3,500 yuan in cash.

The next morning, Chen came to her house with a black plastic bag. Upon opening the bag, he revealed 50,000 to 60,000 yuan in cash. He claimed that the money was necessary to keep under her bed for Feng Shui purposes. He also said that he would "hire" her in the future and that the amount was sufficient for his payment and their expenses.

Liu had to pay rent that day, so she thought she could use a small portion of the money. But when Chen went out on the pretext of "attending a call," he opened his bag and found that it was filled with training banknotes instead of real notes. Only a few notes at the top and bottom were genuine.

Police investigations revealed that Chen regularly visited expensive locations, each time arriving with a different woman. He made the women pay for everything, food, drinks, hotels, and taxis. The women readily paid because they saw large wads of cash with him and assumed he was wealthy.

When the police caught him, it was discovered that his clothes and his new smartphone were also purchased with the money of the very women he had conned.

To make the scam seem genuine, Chen would pose as an agent in chat groups from a separate account, luring women with the promise of "high-paying companionship." When women approached him, he would show them bundles of cash-which were actually training notes, layered with real notes to make the entire bundle appear real.

He would then stash the money away and promise to pay them the full amount upon completion.

If he didn't find a new victim soon, he would run out of money. On such days, he would spend the night sleeping on benches in public parks, and then head out in the morning to find his next target.