The cunning Yi Xinming (on the left) ultimately "cheated" himself into a pair of handcuffs. Photographed by Peng Xiang.
At around 8 o'clock yesterday morning, a train from Beijing to Changsha arrived at the Changsha railway station. Two police officers from the Economic Investigation Detachment of the Changsha Municipal Public Security Bureau escorted a slightly overweight middle-aged man off the train. This man was named Yi Xinming. A year ago, with one clever move, he defrauded two victims of 60 million yuan and stole scaffolding worth over 3 million yuan from a unit in Changsha. Afterward, he hid in Beijing for a year. After receiving the victims' report, the investigating officers of the Economic Investigation Detachment made various efforts, eventually uncovering the fraudster's scam techniques and arresting him in a residential area in Beijing.
Report: Two citizens cheated out of 60 million yuan
In November last year, two panicked citizens from Changsha rushed to the Economic Investigation Detachment of the Changsha Municipal Public Security Bureau to file a report, claiming, "We were cheated out of 6 million yuan by someone named Yi Xinming." Due to the seriousness of the case, Lieutenant Liu Zhengke and Deputy Captain Cao Yi of the First Brigade immediately mobilized key police officers like Liu Zhijia to fully investigate this case.
Through investigation, the police discovered that Yi Xinming was not an ordinary person. In his early years, he started a business trading steel materials. Later, he registered three companies in Changsha: "Hunan Xinli Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Guarantee Co., Ltd.", "Changsha Xinwei Trade Co., Ltd.", and "Hunan Gangcheng Investment Co., Ltd.". The legal representative of all three companies was Yi Xinming. Through further investigation, the police found that among these three companies, only "Changsha Xinwei Trade Co., Ltd." had registered capital of 500,000 yuan, while the other two were shell companies used by Yi Xinming as props for "obtaining something for nothing."
The reason why the two citizens were defrauded of 6 million yuan was because Yi Xinming deceived them with sweet talk, claiming that he needed this money to register "Hunan Xinli Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Guarantee Co., Ltd.". He repeatedly stated that the guarantee company had "registered capital of 26 million yuan," and he had already raised 20 million yuan. Borrowing 6 million yuan from the two citizens was just to reach the total of 26 million yuan. Yi Xinming also promised to pay more than three thousandths of the amount as daily interest, which meant paying the two individuals a total of 20,000 yuan daily, and said it would only be borrowed for a few days before being returned. Tempted by the high interest rate, the two citizens transferred 6 million yuan into Yi Xinming's company account. For the first few months, Yi Xinming paid the two individuals over ten thousand yuan in interest, then began delaying payments with various excuses such as "the project is ongoing, the funds have not yet arrived" or "once the contractor finishes, we can settle the interest in one lump sum." Later, Yi Xinming simply stopped answering the two victims' calls, and eventually his phone was disconnected. It was only then that the two realized they had been scammed and promptly reported the case.
Investigation: The swindler pulls off a "great shift"
"After transferring the money, Yi Xinming handed over the company account and seal to us for safekeeping. We knew without the account and seal, he couldn't take the money away. We couldn't figure out how he managed to make off with the money!" The two victims recounted to Officer Liu Zhijia. After meticulous investigation by Liu Zhijia, the swindler's trick of pulling off a "great shift" to siphon off the company account funds came to light.
Originally, after the 6 million yuan was deposited, Yi Xinming approached Hunan United Guarantee Co., Ltd., which had good credit at the bank, falsely claiming that he wanted to collaborate on small and medium-sized enterprise loan guarantee services. The responsible person from the United Guarantee Co., Ltd. indicated that they could work together if Yi Xinming transferred 5 million yuan into their account as a deposit. Yi Xinming immediately transferred 5 million yuan from his company account to the United Guarantee Company. With their guarantee, Yi Xinming's "Hunan Xinli Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Guarantee Co., Ltd." obtained a credit line of 5 million yuan from the bank. Thereafter, Yi Xinming immediately took out a 5 million yuan loan from the bank. More than a month later, Yi Xinming never repaid the principal or interest of this 5 million yuan loan, prompting the bank to quickly urge the United Guarantee Company. The company then used Yi Xinming's 5 million yuan deposit to repay the bank.
For the remaining 1 million yuan, Yi Xinming thought of a pawnshop. He issued a check for 1 million yuan and took it to a certain pawnshop in Changsha, using the check as collateral to obtain 1 million yuan in cash. Thus, through this "great shift," Yi Xinming took possession of the 6 million yuan. In December last year, the Economic Investigation Detachment of Changsha received another report from a construction engineering company in Yuhua District, stating that Yi Xinming had deceived them out of scaffolding worth over 3 million yuan under the pretense of needing it for a project, and had not returned it. According to the police investigation, this batch of scaffolding had already been resold by Yi Xinming at a low price. By this point, the value of the case approached nearly 10 million yuan.
Tracking: Secrets behind the ID card
What puzzled Officers like Liu Zhijia was that even though the police had listed Yi Xinming as a wanted fugitive online, more than half a year had passed and he remained completely out of sight. "Could Yi Xinming not live in housing, not ride public transport, and not engage in any social activities?" The officers harbored doubts.
Even the most cunning swindlers cannot escape the eyes of the police. Liu Zhijia soon discovered that this Yi Xinming had actually been using an ID card to check into accommodations and travel, so why couldn't the police capture him through the online warrant? Originally, Yi Xinming had a brother who looked very similar to him. In their hometown of Xiangyin County, Yi Xinming used his brother's household registration information to apply for an ID card but used his own photo. Due to their resemblance, the local ID issuing officer didn't notice. With this ID card, Yi Xinming could move about freely. After discovering this secret, the police quickly determined that Yi Xinming was hiding somewhere in Beijing. Through further investigation, the police discovered that Yi Xinming rented his apartment under his ex-wife's name. Recently, Yi Xinming intended to buy a house in Beijing and had visited a certain real estate development to look at a property, leaving relevant documents behind. Liu Zhijia judged that Yi Xinming might appear at the sales office when purchasing the house, providing a perfect opportunity for arrest.
Touching: Police officer still requests to join despite critically ill father
Just as the case was reaching a critical stage, a heart-wrenching event occurred. The 70-year-old father of lead investigator Liu Zhijia, who lived far away in Chenzhou, suddenly experienced a recurrence of bladder cancer and was hospitalized. The elderly man had previously suffered from skin cancer and had undergone an amputation due to it. Upon learning of Liu Zhijia's situation, Lieutenant Liu Zhengke wanted him to take care of his father and planned to replace him with another officer to carry out the arrest in Beijing. However, upon hearing that the team intended to replace personnel, Liu Zhijia approached Liu Zhengke and said earnestly, "Comrade, I've been handling this case all along, and I'm the most familiar with the situation. If another officer is temporarily assigned to conduct the arrest, they won't be familiar with the case details, potentially increasing the difficulty of the operation!" Subsequently, Liu Zhijia invited his older brother from his hometown in Chenzhou to take care of his father in the hospital.
Thus, on September 16th, Liu Zhijia embarked on his journey to Beijing to arrest Yi Xinming. Near the West Station of Beijing Train Station, in a certain residential complex, Liu Zhijia and his comrades waited for over ten days, but the crafty Yi Xinming never appeared. At the real estate development where Yi Xinming intended to buy a house, he also failed to show up, significantly complicating the arrest mission. On September 28th, Liu Zhijia hurried back to Changsha, transferring his seriously ill father to a hospital in Chenzhou. On October 7th, he once again traveled to Beijing to continue the stakeout and arrest Yi Xinming.
Arrest: Elevator surveillance video reveals whereabouts
Since the residential complex Yi Xinming rented in had over 6,000 households and eight exits, the stakeout was extremely challenging. Every day, Liu Zhijia and his team stayed near the complex, eating bread and drinking mineral water when hungry, but even so, they couldn't locate Yi Xinming. If they conducted door-to-door searches, it might alert him prematurely.
Due to the lack of results, Liu Zhijia came up with a "primitive method" on a whim. With the help of local police, they retrieved the surveillance footage of the complex from the past month, watching each clip carefully in search of Yi Xinming's traces. After watching continuously for three days and nights, Liu Zhijia joyfully discovered that an elevator surveillance video showed Yi Xinming accompanying his son and daughter-in-law upstairs. Based on this, Liu Zhijia quickly determined Yi Xinming's exact location and began devising an arrest plan. On the morning of October 24th, with the cooperation of local police officers, Liu Zhijia lured Yi Xinming out of his room and successfully arrested him.
"Finally, I don't have to hide anymore; now I can rest easy!" Yi Xinming sighed deeply after being captured. Through interrogation, it was learned that Yi Xinming had been hiding in this complex for a year, staying indoors every day and rarely venturing out. Even if he wanted to go out for fresh air, he dared only to descend at midnight and walk within the confines of the complex. As for the house he bought, apart from signing the purchase intent form at the marketing center the first time, he never dared to show up again, entrusting all subsequent procedures to his daughter-in-law. Currently, the police are interrogating Yi Xinming.
Regarding the practice of attracting company registration funds with high interest rates, the police remind citizens not to be deceived by the swindlers' appearances. This type of lending akin to "usury" is not protected by law. Do not fall into the swindlers' traps due to greed for profit, as noted in NetEase Blog No. 2.