Chinese man who claimed to work for ex-presidential aide Ling Jihua loses appeal against life sentence for fraud

A man who claimed to be the personal secretary to former presidential aide Ling Jihua lost his appeal against the life sentence on Thursday in a fraud case involving millions of yuan, mainland media reports.

The accused, 31, identified only by his surname of Zhao, from eastern China’s Shandong province, had been convicted of swindling more than 19 million yuan (HK$23 million) from at least three businessmen between 2009 and 2013, Beijing-based Legal Evening News reported, citing court documents.

Beijing No 3 Intermediate Court had been told that Zhao –who had denied the charge of fraud – had claimed to be the personal secretary of Ling – once the chief of staff of the Office of General Secretary to former president Hu Jintao.

Zhao, who was really only a shareholder in a Shandong real estate company, also told one of the businessmen he swindled money from in October 2009 that he was also a deputy director of the country’s top legislative affairs office, the court heard.

He had claimed his power and connections to China’s top leadership ensured that business deals he was involved in would generate large profits..

Ling was expelled from the party last year and is expected to be tried on charges of corruption and illegally obtaining state secrets.