Claiming cancer, man swindles 1.4m yuan

A con man has been charged with fraud for swindling his lover out of 1.4 million yuan ($231,443) by pretending that he had cancer, local media reported Sunday.

The suspect, surnamed Shen, met the victim in May 2007 while she was working as a waitress at a karaoke club, according to a report in the Xinmin Evening News. Shen introduced himself as a real estate businessman.

After dating for three months, the two became lovers and Shen informed the victim, who was not identified, that he was already married.

The report said that the woman didn't mind because she thought it was natural for such a successful man to be taken.

The two maintained their relationship for three years. During that period, the woman got married.

In August 2010, she got a phone call from Shen, who told her that he had been diagnosed with blood cancer and needed a lot of money to pay for treatment.

The woman expressed her willingness to help him out.

She transferred money to Shen whenever he told her he needed to see a doctor or buy medication, the report said. In total, she gave him 1.1 million yuan of her own savings and about 300,000 yuan of her husband's money.

Whenever she told Shen she wanted to visit him, he refused, claiming that he lived in a faraway hospital.

Several years later, the woman's friends convinced her that he was a liar and urged her to call police.

She had become suspicious of Shen's story because she could never reach him. He only contacted her when he wanted money.

She eventually called the police, who found Shen in Fengxian district. Police discovered he had never had cancer and had lied about working in real estate.