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A man fled to Thailand after operating a scheme where he would sell luxury cars he rented from a car rental company. Court documents show that he profited over 5 million yuan within 2 years from selling the cars to unsuspecting victims.The case was recently reported by a court in Shanghai after the man, surnamed Ma, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined 500,000 yuan for contract violation and fraud.Ma met Qi, the owner of a car rental company, in November 2021 through a car rental service advertisement online. He rented a car on the same day, and earned a good reputation after renting cars from the same company several times.After gaining trust from the company, Ma rented a Rolls-Royce Ghost worth 4.8 million yuan in March 2022 and sold it to a third party for over 2.8 million yuan.In July of the same year, he rented a Lamborghini worth over 3.2 million yuan. He then mortgaged and sold it to Mr. Lu and Mr. Wu for over 150,000 yuan and over 2.2 million yuan, respectively.
"I told them that I bought the car on a loan which I haven't fully repaid so it was not yet registered on my name." Ma explained how he was able to mortgage or sell the car to a third party without transfering ownership.He gave the victims forged temporary licence plates and other relevant documents.In August of the same year, Ma rented a Ferrari worth over 2.8 million yuan. He then sold it to Mr. Zheng for 1 million yuan on a loan, receiving a 600,000 yuan deposit. However, the car rental company reclaimed the car from Zheng.
After seeing that his scheme was unfolded and the victims have reported him to the police, he fled to Thailand in September 2022 and later travelled to Laos due to visa issues. He returned and settled in Thailand after settling his visa issues.The police launched an operation code named "fox hunting" to track down fugitives overseas and Ma was listed as one of the fugitives.In March of this year, Ma was arrested by local Thai police in his apartment in Thailand and sent back to Shanghai. The Hongkou PSB arrested him soon after he landed at the airport.Ma confessed to his criminal activities and voluntarily pleaded guilty. He was given a lighter punishment because he confessed to his crimes.
"Mr. Qi from the car rental company once showed me the documents they used for ownership of the cars. I forged the documents based on the information I gathered online and with a help of a person who knows how to edit such documents." Said Ma.The People's Procuratorate of Hongkou District in Shanghai sentenced Ma to 13 years in prison and fined him 500,000 yuan, noting that Ma was given a lighter sentence for his crimes because he cooperated with the investigation.
Reference: Shanghai Legal Daily
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