Audacious move: Shanghai man sentenced to 13 years in prison for reselling rented limos

A man in Shanghai has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for reselling rented limos, according to a report by the Shanghai Observer, a news outlet in Shanghai, on Wednesday. The man, surnamed Ma, was also fined 500,000 yuan ($70,000).

In November 2021, Ma gained the trust of Qi, the owner of a car rental company, by maintaining a good and long-term relationship with him. Last year, Ma took advantage of this trust to rent a Rolls-Royce worth 4.8 million yuan from Qi. He then pawned the car to a pawnshop and sold it to a man surnamed Wu for over 2.8 million yuan.

Ma repeated the scam in July of the same year, renting a Lamborghini worth over 3.2 million yuan from Qi and selling it for a total of over 2.2 million yuan. In August, he used the same method to fraudulently obtain a Ferrari worth over 2.8 million yuan from Qi, selling it for 600,000 yuan.

When selling the cars, Ma provided the victims with temporary license plates, accompanying inspection documents for imported vehicles, and cargo import certificates. He claimed that the documents were original, but he later confessed that he had paid someone online to forge them based on information provided by Qi.

In September 2022, Ma fled to Thailand. He was later labeled as an outlaw and wanted under the Fox Hunting 2023, a special operation launched by the Ministry of Public Security targeting people suspected of committing financial crimes who are on the run abroad.

In March 2023, Ma was apprehended by Thai police and sent back to Shanghai. He pleaded guilty to the charges of contract fraud and was sentenced to 13 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 yuan.