After a one night stand in 2008, a man in Guangzhou was told by his partner that she had had his twins in Hong Kong. After the woman claimed to have cancer of the liver in 2010, he sent her 2.2 million RMB. He later received calls from people claiming to be the woman’s friend and mother telling him she had died. He then sent more money to raise the twins in Hong Kong, only to discover that she was never pregnant and hadn’t died, Guangzhou Daily reports.
The story, one of the most bizarre scams of recent years, goes back to early 2006 when the man, Mr. Pan, a wealthy Guangzhou businessman, met a girl named Xiuxiu over the phone. She claimed to be the daughter of a rich man and they formed a friendship by chatting regularly over the phone.
The speech bubble says: “I have terminal liver cancer. Buy a house for our children please.”
Shortly after the Spring Festival in 2008, they met at the Danzao Xianhu Clifford Hotel and had a one night stand. Later that year, Xiuxiu told Mr. Pan she had had twins and that he was the father.
Pan claims to have been very happy to hear this news and wanted to meet the children but Xiuxiu would always think up an excuse to decline.
Later, she said she was already married and did not wish to see Mr. Pan but she repeatedly turned down his offers of money to support the twins, claiming she had a rich husband.
Pan did not hear from Xiuxiu for almost two years after that but in September 2010 he received a call from a tearful Xiuxiu claiming she was suffering from cancer of the liver and it had been diagnosed too late. He then gave her 4.63 million RMB and then 2.23 million to help raise the twins and cover her medical fees.
A few days later, Pan received a call from somebody claiming to be Xiuxiu’s friend. The “friend” told Pan that Xiuxiu had died in Hong Kong and Pan put up 840,000 RMB for a lavish funeral.
Then on March 11 this year, Pan received a phone call from somebody claiming to be Xiuxiu’s mother saying she needed money to buy a house in Hong Kong for the twins as she was unable to financially support the twins herself.
On March 14, Pan sent 5 million RMB to the “mother’s” account, and it was only after he sent this money that he sensed something odd about the whole thing. On March 16, he finally called the cops and explained everything that had happened.
On March 26, police arrested two suspects in Yanfeng Village in Dali Town. They were a 39 year-old woman surnamed Luo (Xiuxiu) and her younger brother. Two days later, her cousin, Huang, turned himself into police, saying he had been in on the scam.
It later emerged that Luo was never pregnant and she had never had cancer. The “mother” and “friend” who had called Pan on the phone were Luo herself. She had trained herself to talk differently.
The case is being investigated.