Three men and a woman were caught in Shantou attempting to swindle hundreds of thousands of yuan on the pretence of representing a "national heritage" scheme, reports Information Times.

Claiming to be descendants of Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) and other famous figures in China's modern history, they claimed to be members of a powerful "China Plum Flower Society". The society is trying to recover a "national heritage" fund, amounting to 300 billion yuan (US$36 billion), from overseas, they said.

The four asked individuals for contributions of 100,000 yuan (US$12,080), which they promised would increase by three or even five times once the society gained control over the massive fund.

"Emperor's stamps", yellowed photos and metal plates bearing strange patterns were also displayed as "proof" to back up their claims.

Their society was able to manipulate the presidential election in the United States and had a say in the war against Iraq, they said.

Any contradictions in their stories were invariably glossed over as being "necessary to ensure secrecy".

Undercover policemen visited the group in the guise of potential donors and made their arrests after witnessing the performance.

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