Businesswoman sentenced to death with reprieve for fraud

A businesswoman in east China's Jiangsu Province was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve over financial fraud involving 1.7 billion yuan (280 million U.S. dollars).

The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court also confiscated all personal assets of Gu Chunfang, who was the legal representative of a trade company in Suzhou City.

From 2008 to March 2012, Gu, who had huge personal debts, illegally raised a total of 1.7 billion yuan in loans from the public with the promise of high interests. She was not able to return 459 million yuan when investigated, according to the court.

From August to October 2011, Gu fabricated information about her coal trade business in order to borrow loans totaling 40 million yuan from a rural small loan company and other units. She could not return 39 million yuan, the court said.

Gu went missing in early March 2012, but was arrested by police in Shanghai at the end of the same month.