36 men take out ₹1.2 crore mortgages to buy property for love, only to discover they were all dating same woman
A woman in Shenzhen allegedly deceived 36 men by posing as their girlfriend and convincing them to buy apartments in a nearby city before disappearing.
A woman in Shenzhen has allegedly swindled 36 men by pretending to be in a relationship with them and persuading them to purchase apartments in Huizhou, a city around 90 kilometers away, according to the South China Morning Post. Reportedly, all the properties were located in two residential complexes, Jiu Jing Tai and Hao Yi Shang Yuan.
One of the victims, who goes by the alias Atao, shared his experience of meeting Liu Jia on a dating app in March last year. He quickly fell for her, believing she was “tender, virtuous, family-oriented, and considerate.”
Liu claimed to be a 30-year-old from Hunan province, working in Shenzhen’s e-commerce industry. After dating for a month, she brought up the topic of marriage and insisted Atao buy a house before meeting his parents or moving in with him. To convince him further, she even offered to contribute 30,000 yuan (US$4,000 / ₹3.3 lakh) towards the down payment and strongly recommended the two residential blocks in Huizhou. At the time, the developers were offering subsidies of over 100,000 yuan (US$14,000 / ₹11 lakh) to potential buyers.
After Atao purchased the flat, Liu refused to have her name added to the ownership certificate. Soon after, she became distant and eventually cut off all contact with him. Another victim, surnamed Wang, reported a similar experience, saying, “After I bought the house, Liu Jia refused to meet me using the excuse of being busy. She blocked me from calling her and deleted me from her contact list.”
Conned 36 men
Atao claimed that at least 36 men, all in their 30s and working in Shenzhen, had fallen victim to the same scheme, each dating Liu for only one or two months. He now faces financial strain, paying a monthly home loan of 4,100 yuan (US$560), along with rent in Shenzhen and expenses for his parents. “I dare not have a girlfriend now,” he admitted.
The case has sparked heated discussions on Chinese social media, with some users joking that Liu should be named “sales champion of a real estate developer.” Others criticized the men for being too trusting, saying, “These men are too careless. They trusted a person whom they only knew for a month.”
