Wife Commits Fraud Using 'Fake' Husband's Name; Cheated Relatives of ₹14 Crore in Real Estate Scam.

40-Year-Old Woman Cheats Relatives of ₹14 Crore by Faking a Wealthy Fiancé
A 40-year-old woman introduced her future husband as a wealthy real estate businessman and deceived her relatives into giving her ₹14 crore. The woman, identified as Meng from Shanghai, carried out this elaborate scam to swindle her own family members.

In 2014, Meng ran a small real estate agency, but the business failed. Following this, she devised a new scheme. She proposed marriage to her regular car driver, Qin, and convinced him by saying that her family was pressuring her to get married as she was getting older. However, the marriage was completely fake. As per Meng’s instructions, Qin added the family name "Jiang" to his name during the wedding.

At the wedding, Meng introduced Qin Jiang to her relatives as someone from a family deeply involved in the real estate business. She claimed that he had multiple projects across various provinces in China. To make the scam more believable, Meng told her relatives that Qin had strong connections to acquire properties at lower prices.

To reinforce this lie, after the wedding, Meng purchased an apartment worth ₹12 crore and resold it to one of her relatives at half the price. She then asked that relative to spread the word that he made a huge profit thanks to Meng and Qin Jiang’s help. This convinced other relatives, who became eager to invest. Meng even promised discounts of up to 61,000 yuan (approximately $700) on properties.

Five of Meng’s relatives agreed to buy apartments through her. Some even sold their existing homes to raise funds. In total, they handed over nearly ₹14 crore to Meng.

However, over the years, Meng began distancing herself from her relatives, repeatedly making excuses about delays in securing discounts. When some relatives pressured her, she rented apartments and handed them over to them, falsely claiming they were their purchased properties.

Suspicion arose when one of her relatives contacted the real property developer to verify ownership details. This led to the discovery of the fraud. Following a legal case, a court recently convicted Meng.

Meng was sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in prison for contract fraud. Her accomplice, Qin, received 6 years in jail for his role in the scam. Additionally, another relative who helped Meng by lying to others was sentenced to 5 years in prison.