China investor reveals 9-year hunt to bring fugitive fraudster ex-wife to justice after she fled to US

A Shenzhen-based investment veteran has revealed on social media that he spent 13 million yuan (US$1.9 million) over nine years to send the woman who deceived him to prison.The story of Li Ping has drawn significant attention online.His 15-minute video, released on June 30, has garnered 69,000 likes and 9,, news portal guancha.cn reported.Li, 52, said in his clip that during the period from 1996 to 2014, he earned over 70 million yuan (US$10 million) from the stock market.In the middle of 2014, Li was invited to attend a forum where he met Zhang Shudan, an account manager at a major state-owned bank.Both of them were from Hanzhong, in northwestern Shaanxi province.Zhang, who was 11 years younger than Li, told the investor that she was abandoned by her parents and was raised by a poor, old couple. Despite the impoverished upbringing, she studied hard and was admitted to a prestigious university.Li said he later realised that Zhang must have known about his background before approaching him.Li later discovered that Zhang was likely aware of his background before she initiated contact with him. Photo: guancha.cnLi, who was divorced, deposited 20 million yuan at the bank where Zhang worked.Taking advantage of Li’s goodwill, Zhang repeatedly borrowed money from him, using the excuse of paying for the elderly couple’s medical costs.At the beginning of 2015, Zhang asked Li out, confessing her admiration and explaining it was the only way she could repay his kindness.“She said she would like to take care of me and have children with me. What’s more, she said she could help my daughter’s studies. My daughter was eight years old at the time,” said Li.Further ReadingIn March 2015, Zhang told Li that she was pregnant.In April, Li bought a flat in Shenzhen for 7.5 million yuan. The house was registered under Zhang’s name.Within weeks, they were married in their hometown of Hanzhong.The day after their wedding, Li drove back to Shenzhen with a friend while Zhang took a flight home. They were involved in an accident when the car’s brakes failed.A few days later, Zhang asked Li to deposit 10 million yuan in her bank, claiming that she needed the funds to boost her performance evaluation at work. She promised she would return the money soon.Li said he did not have that much money and transferred 2.74 million yuan to Zhang’s bank.In a viral video that gained significant traction in China and across social media, Li shared the complex details of his case to caution others. Photo: guancha.cnSoon after, Zhang went missing. Police said that she had flown to Los Angeles via Hong Kong.She had taken all the money, the ownership certificates of four flats, all of which were bought by Li, and all her identity certificates.Li later learned that Zhang and her accomplice had tampered with the car’s brakes in order to kill him during his drive to Shenzhen.“If she only wanted to swindle me out of money, I would not have pursued the matter. But she should not destroy my car in an effort to kill me. Her plan was obviously to inherit all my assets as my wife,” Li said in his viral video.From then on, he devoted all his efforts to find Zhang and brining her to justice.He offered a reward of US$1 million for any information on Zhang’s whereabouts and contacted the local Chinese community, churches, and postpartum care centres in the US.Li also hired lawyers and private detectives in both China and the US.These expenses combined reached 13 million yuan (US$1.9 million), Li said.Police in Los Angeles identified where Zhang and her baby lived, and the DNA test showed that the baby was not Li’s biological child.Zhang absconded to the US via Hong Kong with all the money, ownership certificates for four properties purchased by Li, and her identity documents. Photo: ShutterstockLi said he sued Zhang for defrauding him, but the case was stalled for a long time because she was his wife.In 2020, a court in Shenzhen decided to annul their marriage and ordered the four flats owned by Zhang be transferred to Li.In 2024, a court in California sentenced Zhang to 65 years in prison for 23 crimes including fraud, illegal immigration, illegal overstay, child kidnapping, and human trafficking.According to Li, Zhang had accomplices who helped her transfer the money abroad and helped her escape to the US.“Previously my life goal was to build a family, have several children and pass my investment secrets to my children. Now my thought is to share my knowledge with society,” he said.“Because many people have helped me in the past, I also wish to help others.”