Fabricated bank adds to China's list of fakery
Source: AP-Excite
By DIDI TANG
BEIJING (AP) - In a China awash with fake iPhones, pirated DVDs and knockoff Louis Vuitton bags, rice trader Lin Chunping took fakery to a whole new level: He invented a U.S. bank and claimed he bought it.
The little-known businessman shot to fame in January when state media reported that he had taken over Delaware-based Atlantic Bank. The unprecedented acquisition brought him praise: His hometown gave him a prestigious political appointment and state media called his business experience "legendary."
The only thing that may have been legendary is Lin's audacity. Not only did he not buy Atlantic Bank in Delaware for $60 million as he claimed, but there is no Atlantic Bank in that state.
Chinese reporters could not locate an Atlantic Bank or a bank registration by Lin in Delaware. He's under arrest for an unrelated fraud and has been forced to give up his municipal-level appointment to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the government's top advisory body.
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In this March 13, 2012 photo, businessman Lin Chunping attends a press conference in Wenzhou, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. In China, awash with fake iPhones, pirated DVDs of Hollywood blockbusters and knockoff Louis Vuitton bags, 41-year-old rice trader Lin took fakery to a whole new level: He invented a U.S. bank and claimed he bought it. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT
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