A 29-year-old gentleman in China, who started a charity strategy claiming that he needed money for cancer therapy, is accused of using some of the funds to get an apartment.
Lan, from Yichang in Hubei province, started a fundraising strategy on October 14. He said he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma and needed 900, 000 yuan ( Rs 1.05 crore ) for treatment. He claimed that his family has spent a lot of money on his family’s medical expenses to convince people that he has a financial disaster and that he actually needed it.
Lan’s plan included emails and videos that were shared with his former Nanjing University classmates. He immediately raised over 700, 000 rmb from over 4, 500 people.
But, on November 6, Lan posted photos of a new house in a class chat, composing:” This is my new house”. Donors became dubious and began investigating.
They discovered an outdated Router wedding advertisement. According to the advertisements, his household owned several properties for millions of yuan and rented out one property for 145, 000 yuan annually. This contradicted Lan’s promises of financial pain.
Lan’s battle was stopped by the crowdfunding site, which gave the donors the 278, 204 renminbi he had already received. Lan is prohibited from using its companies, according to the system.
Lan denied misusing the gifts. He claimed he did not use gifts to purchase the house but rather that he had invested 200, 000 renminbi in a savings account.
The event, first reported by Red Star News, has raised fears about fraud in net charity funding. He has lost his chance to freeload, according to one commentator, but his dishonesty may make more people reluctant to give to those who are truly in need. Is it known whether Lan may face legal action.
