An unemployed man who allegedly conned about 200,000 yuan (US$29,249) from a group of impoverished locals was arrested yesterday.

Li Xiaoqiang, a 34-year-old local, was charged with fraud by Minhang District prosecutors of Shanghai.

Prosecutors alleged Li pretended to be a wealthy, powerful person to gain the trust of his victims, and promised them help and job offers before asking to borrow money. Beginning last June, he cheated about 200,000 yuan from a dozen victims within six months, prosecutors said.

Li met a security guard surnamed Luo in a local residential community last August. He told the guard he was a senior employee at a foreign company. He said his annual salary was 300,000 yuan and he had just returned from an overseas business trip. In fact, Li had just been released from prison after serving a year for fraud.

Li said he would get Luo a job at a big company owned by his friend and the salary would be twice what he was currently earning.

He also promised to find a job for Luo's son, prosecutors said.

On September 15 last year, Li asked to borrow money from Luo, saying he had to go to Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, to help a friend handle a lawsuit.

Luo scraped together 9,000 yuan for Li but never saw him after that, prosecutors said.

Another victim was an old woman surnamed Zhang who worked as a pedicurist. Li told her he was a doctor, and said he planned to turn the fitness room in her community into a home for the elderly. Li said he would hire Zhang to work in the rest home. He also promised to get a job for her daughter, according to prosecutors.

On November 20, Li told Zhang that the district governor wanted to borrow 100,000 yuan from him and he was short by 20,000 yuan. Zhang had only 1,000 yuan and Li became angry, prosecutors said. Zhang didn't dare offend Li and borrowed 20,000 yuan from others to give to him. Now she has to pay the debt herself, prosecutors said.

Most of Li's alleged victims were poor locals. When Li was caught he had already spent all the money and so it is unlikely his victims will be repaid, prosecutors said.

(Shanghai Daily January 17, 2009)