Life sentence upheld on "fake banker" case

WENZHOU - Zhejiang high court in east China has upheld a life sentence for a businessman infamous for his bogus claim to have purchased a US bank, authorities said Monday.

The Zhejiang Provincial People's High Court handed down the appeal verdict to Lin Chunping on March 13, upholding the first trial decision by Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court on November 19 last year.

Lin, 44, from Wenzhou city in Zhejiang, was sentenced to life imprisonment for making 1,266 false value-added tax invoices worth 520 million yuan ($83.7 million) and selling them to 315 companies across the country between September 2011 and May 2012 for profit, the Wenzhou ruling said. He was also accused of making false tax rebate invoices. All of Li's personal wealth has been confiscated.

Lin was hailed by the local government and the media as a "financial hero" in Wenzhou after claiming to have purchased the "Atlantic Bank of America" in 2011, which was later found to be nonexistent.