Cop impersonators swindle 210,000 yuan

Qingpu district police have detained two people for swindling a local man out of 210,000 yuan ($34,359) by posing as police officers, police said Monday.

The victim, surnamed Chen, 47, from Qingpu district, met the suspects while looking for someone to help him recover 600,000 yuan that he lent to an investment company in early 2007, according to a press release from the Qingpu District Public Security Bureau.

The company had told Chen that it would repay the loan and make monthly interest payments at an annual rate of 4 percent, but it stopped making the payments after the first two months, police said.

Chen won a lawsuit against the company in May 2007, but it refused to comply with the court's order to repay him.

Frustrated, Chen decided to solve the matter through personal connections. A friend introduced him to the suspects, who introduced themselves as an assistant police officer named Xiao Jun and a police officer surnamed Xia. Both men said they worked for the Qingpu District Public Security Bureau.

Xia told Chen that he had experience dealing with an investment company that had swindled its clients. He offered details that gave Chen confidence they could help get the money back, police said.

Chen took the two men to fancy meals on several occasions. Each time, he handed them cash so they would carry on with the investigation. Police said the payments ranged from 600 yuan to 3,000 yuan. Sometimes, when they were short of cash, the pair would call Chen and ask him to transfer them money.

In 2008, the investment company partially complied with the court order and returned 200,000 yuan to Chen, which he credited to what he believed to be Xia and Xiao Jun's behind-the-scenes wrangling, police said. In reality, they hadn't done anything.

Having won Chen's trust, the pair convinced him to give them more money so they could get the rest of the loan back. They continued to string Chen along until this September, when Xia got drunk at dinner and let slip that his real name was Chen.

Chen contacted Qingpu police and found out there wasn't an officer named Chen who matched Xia's description. Chen then reported the two men to police.

Officers arrested Xia and Xiao Jun, who were only identified by their aliases.

The pair admitted that they had been conning Chen. In reality, Xiao Jun worked for an insurance company and Xia was unemployed. They said they impersonated police officers because Chen was an easy mark.

Both men have remained in police custody pending further investigation.

The district public security bureau said that real police officers will never ask residents for money to pursue an investigation.