BEIJING, May 21: Three men in China tricked a bank for USD 2.25 million (13.5 million yuan) pay off by allegedly posing as Generals of People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Prosecutors accused the trio of setting up a fake military committee as part of the scam, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
Li Wanyong, 54, Zhao Dongming, 50, and Han Guozhao, 60, created a fake “construction and development foundation committee of the PLA” in August 2012.
They claimed they were PLA generals and wanted to use the committee to establish a state-owned bank for privatising state assets.
They lured a banker by promising to make him President of the bank.
The suspects convinced the manager to give them 500,000 yuan for office supplies, three million yuan to buy 50 vehicles and 10 million yuan for press conferences.
The banker grew suspicious and contacted the police when the press conferences didn’t happen.
All the three men denied charges.
Police searched Li’s home and found an undisclosed amount of money and falsified military certificates in a bag.
Li said Han had dropped the bag off and he wasn’t even aware of its contents.
“I did receive money [from Han], but I didn’t … plan anything,” Li told the court.
He said that he never heard of the bank manager and didn’t know Zhao.
Li said Han showed him documents that purportedly showed the establishment of the foundation committee, and tried to get him to join.
“If I had stamped these certificates, I would take responsibility, even if you gave me the death penalty. But [Han] left the bag … and I never even opened it before,” said Li, who suffers from hypertension and appeared in court in a wheelchair.
“If your friend asks you to keep something for him, would you ask why?” Li asked the prosecutor. Han and Zhao both denied their role in the scam.
In a separate incident, a man hired a person to pose as an UN official in a bid to free his cousin from jail in Yueyang, Hunan province.
They went to the prison warden’s office and said they were promoting global peace, but were soon arrested, China National Radio reported. (PTI)
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