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Yating Yang

A 40-year-old woman from China fell in love with a scammer and helped him con other people, despite being cheated out of 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) by him.
She believed his story about being forced to meet a quota by a scamming ring in Myanmar and agreed to help secure his release so they could be together in China.
The woman, surnamed Hu, from Shanghai, met the man, identified as Chen, on an online dating platform in May last year.
Chen convinced Hu he was a decent person and claimed to have an investment account with high returns which he persuaded her to invest.
When Hu later discovered she could not withdraw the money, she realised she had been conned.

Chen justified his actions by telling Hu he was trapped in a scamming ring in Northern Myanmar and needed to meet a certain quota before he could return to China.
Despite knowing his true identity, she continued to pursue a relationship with the fraudster. They even addressed each other as husband and wife online.
Chen promised he would return to China once he met his quota, prompting Hu to help him by facilitating the transfer of scammed money.
He assured her that as long as she did not take a commission and maintained her role as a victim, she would be safe.
Blinded by love, Hu obediently followed Chen’s instructions, using her bank account to receive and launder the money through cash withdrawals and cryptocurrency conversions.
Last September, another victim, surnamed Zhao, was also conned out of 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) by Chen, which was directly transferred to Hu’s account, and then moved, as directed.
Police arrested Hu on September 19, last year. During her trial, she confessed to her crimes and her family compensated Zhao for all losses.
On May 8, the Jiading Primary People’s Court, Shanghai, found Hu guilty of fraud.
However, because she had not profited from the crime and had compensated a victim, she was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, suspended for the same period, and fined 30,000 yuan.
Hu’s actions have astounded many people in China.
“People fall in love with teachers when studying, instructors during military training, bosses at work, and even the scammers who deceive them. Why are there so many lovesick women?” one online observer said.

“She willingly continued even after he admitted to being a scammer. It seems honesty really does pay when it comes to dating,” said another.
Scamming cases are frequently reported, but one woman, surnamed Wang, from Changshu, in the coastal province of Jiangsu north of Shanghai, outwitted the con artist who swindled her.
After being cheated out of 220,000 yuan (US$30,000) in 2020, she spent eight months chatting with the scammer, gradually making him fall in love with her.
In May 2021, she successfully lured the criminal, who was based in Southeast Asia, back to China to meet her in person. Then she led the police to him and he was arrested.


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A Shanghai woman, who was swindled yet smitten by a man in who claimed he was being held by a crime gang in Myanmar, agreed to help him with his con so they could be together.


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China woman falls for scammer despite losing US$14,000, helps in fraud so can be together

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Woman meets ‘Myanmar’ man online who claims to be held by criminals, believes sob story, pursues romantic relationship, helps launder cash

Woman meets ‘Myanmar’ man online who claims to be held by criminals, believes sob story, pursues romantic relationship, helps launder cash