Fake Chinese princess found guilty over 2 million yuan scam

A Chinese woman has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison after she was found guilty for scamming people 2.3 million yuan (around 380,000 U.S. dollars) by claiming to be a Qing Dynasty princess.

The woman, surnamed Wang, is a farmer in central province of Henan but told her victims that she was Princess Changping, a descendant of Aisin Gioro family, who founded the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Wang, 49, said she owned 175 billion yuan in assets left by the royal family, but couldn't access them because they were being held by authorities. She told people if they lend her money to bribe officials and get the assets back, she would reward them three times their investment.

Police discovered fake gold bars, fake dollars and homemade treasure maps at Wang's office. She offered them as collateral to investors.

Wang stood on trial at the People's Court of Lianhu District in Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province on Monday. Her accomplice, a 47-year-old unemployed man from Xi'an, was jailed for 12 years. They scammed 2.34 million yuan from several victims between February 2013 and July 2014, according to the verdict.

They were ordered to repay all the money they had cheated from their victims, it said.

Both defendants have appealed against their sentences. Endi