Nine locals were defrauded out of HK$47.29 million by their friend saying that if they invested in his used car business he could “buy low and sell high” and make a profit for them, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Chan Wun Man said during a special press conference yesterday at the Barrier Gate checkpoint.
Chan said the 38-year-old suspect surnamed Lei is jobless, while the victims comprise eight men and one woman aged from 32 to 40.
According to Chan, the victims had been friends with Lei for many years, and in 2016 Lei started to persuade them to invest in his business which involved buying used cars at a low price and selling them at a higher price.
Chan said Lei told the victims that every HK$300,000 invested in his business would yield HK$15,000.
The nine victims invested with amounts ranging from HK$200,000 up to HK$26.6 million, said Chan, adding that the victims had received “profits” ranging from tens of thousands to HK$750,000 in the past.
According to Chan, Lei told the victims in 2021 that he was planning to buy expensive cars from failing casino operators and sell them for profit, claiming that this time every HK$200,000 invested would yield HK$50,000 in profit. Believing their “friend” again, the victims raised their investments. However, afterwards Lei came up with various excuses and avoided paying them, said Chan.
According to Chan, after the victims discovered that Lei had gone to the mainland via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) on January 25, they suspected that they had been scammed by him and called the police for help on that day. Chan said that the Judiciary Police informed the mainland’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) about the case, and Lei was apprehended in Zhongshan city on Monday and transferred to the Judiciary Police yesterday.
The case was still under investigation at the time of yesterday’s special conference.
Zhongshan lies some 40 kilometres north of Macau.
Police officers from Guangdong and Macau pose after finalising the paperwork for the fraud suspect’s transfer back to Macau, at the Barrier Gate checkpoint yesterday afternoon.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded suspect from a PSB vehicle to a PJ vehicle at the Barrier Gate checkpoint yesterday. Photos: William Chan
