A 22-year-old man appeared in a local court on fraud charges Tuesday after he allegedly faked relationships with former President Jiang Zeming and US leader George W. Bush to cheat his neighbor out of 174,000 yuan (US$20,964).

Police said Wang Jie began his scheme in July 2001 when he told his mother he had been recruited by the Ministry of State Security and would have to travel abroad for some time. He asked his mom to borrow some money from an elderly neighbor named Li Huqin.

When Li heard Wang's good news, she offered him 10,000 yuan, for which he wrote an IOU.

"I just wanted to help them at that time because I knew their living condition was not good," Li said Tuesday during a break in Wang's trial at the Changning District People's Court.

Several days after Li lent the money to Wang, she received the first of several phone calls from a man claiming to be China's former president, according to prosecutors. President Jiang -- actually Wang disguising his voice -- used every excuse to persuade the elderly woman to lend more money to Wang.

She always agreed and passed the money along through Wang's mother, Du Lanxiang.

After a while, Wang's mother became suspicious and followed Wang to a hotel he was staying in. During a confrontation in the hotel, Wang allegedly confessed he was cheating Li.

Being a loyal mother, Du kept the information to herself and continued to help her son dupe the old woman next door, prosecutors said. She is also on trial as an accessory to Wang's crimes.

At one point, Du even told the victim about President Bush's visit to the family's home. The US leader, she said, had decided to stay the night.

Eventually, more family members became aware of the lies and reported the mother and son to the police on October 22, 2003. The pair were arrested a few days later.

Wang Tuesday told the court he didn't think he had committed fraud because he wrote IOUs every time.

"I just borrowed money from her and would return the money to her later," Wang said.

Wang and Du face a minimum of 10 years' and four years' imprisonment, respectively, if they don't return the money to Li.

(Shanghai Daily March 31, 2004)