Like a plot straight out of the film Catch Me If You Can, a wanted fraudster who was once dubbed the “golden boy of real estate” was apprehended in Taipei late last year after hiding out in Pingtung County where he again swindled tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars from local residents, investigators said on Sunday.
Lai Kuan-chai (賴冠翟), 44, had previously been arrested by Yilan police for his involvement in an illegal fundraising scheme that accrued more than NT$100 million (US$31.64 million), the investigators said.
After being released on bail in 2018, Lai disappeared and resurfaced on the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) in 2019, posing as an architect and lawyer under the alias “Shen Wen” (沈文), they said.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
While there, Lai hosted a “leadership summit” at Chiaoyong Primary School, sponsored outdoor activities for students and vowed to help children from the rural area gain admission to National Taiwan University.
Lai arranged for teachers and students to visit the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, with photographs of the trip still visible on an official Web site, investigators said, adding that this served as a perfect cover to establish his credibility.
To the teachers and students, “Lawyer Shen” appeared to keep a low profile, always wearing a mask and a hat when going out, and avoiding taking photographs in public, claiming that he was not seeking recognition for his good deeds, they said.
In 2023, Lai allegedly began to “casually” reveal investment opportunities to those close to him after gaining their trust, investigators said.
Claiming he planned to retire after “cultivating this final batch of students,” he used promises of guaranteed returns and his supposed architectural expertise to solicit investments before vanishing, they said.
It was not until the victims were unable to reach him that they realized his five-year charity campaign was a front to steal their money, investigators said.
About a dozen teachers and parents in the Hengchun area reportedly fell victim to the scam, with one investing up to NT$9 million of their retirement funds, police said, estimating the total defrauded amount to be more than NT$20 million.
Police said many other victims might be unwilling to come forward to protect their reputation.
One victim said they confidently invested their life savings with Lai due to his enthusiasm for supporting the community and his “high connections.”
“I never imagined he was a wanted fraudster,” they added.
Lai’s case has been transferred to the Yilan District Court for detention, they said.
Pingtung County police issued an anti-fraud warning regarding the case, describing it as a typical “authority figure scam.”
Lai created a false image of having high socioeconomic status by using professional titles and photographs with politicians to build trust, deceiving even normally cautious people, police said.
Lai’s success was due to psychological manipulation, they said.
The credentials of lawyers and architects are easily verifiable through official online systems, they said.
Fraud rings also often use small acts such as charitable donations or student activities to whitewash their image, police said, adding that they frequently use public events to take photos with high-ranking officials to create the illusion of having close ties to power.
Police urged the public to stick to legal investment channels, adding that anyone claiming guaranteed returns or secret operations, or who refuses to show their face in public, is likely to be a fraudster.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS