A territory university student tricked into a staged kidnapping was extorted out of $400,000 by an international network and a fake Chinese police officer, court documents have alleged.
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New details about the alleged virtual kidnaping scam, which is said to target "vulnerable" Chinese internationals, were revealed on Friday when Zheming Zhang was granted bail in the ACT Magistrates Court.
The 22-year-old man entered pleas of not guilty to kidnaping, forcible confinement, impersonating a police officer, and obtaining a financial advantage by deception.
Those charges relate to Zhang's alleged involvement in the elaborate and "bizarre" extortion of a Canberra university student last year.
He faces "strikingly similar" allegations in Tasmania, where he was also bailed, and NSW, where he is yet to be charged. Targets are allegedly threatened with deportation.
"The scheme involves exorbitant amounts of money. In the ACT, it was over $400,000, and in NSW, it was over a millions dollars," prosecutor Christina Muthurajah told the court.
"The complainant in this matter was so fearful and held such a strong belief in the scam that she did not seek the assistance of police."
Despite Ms Muthurajah's concern about possible offending on bail, Zhang, himself a student, was bailed to a Queensland address understood to be a university residence.
According to court documents, the alleged victim received a phone call from someone claiming to be her telecommunications provider last August.
She was advised her phone service would be restricted due to scam activity.
The international student was eventually transferred to a man claiming to be Shanghai police, who convinced her of his position through a phone number on Google.
Documents claim the woman was convinced she was a suspect in a money laundering investigation, and even spoke on video call to a man wearing a police uniform and appearing to be sitting in a police station.
Over the next few days, it's alleged the woman was monitored and eventually told to book a hotel room to meet a Chinese police officer under strict confidentiality.
Police claim that man was Zhang, who allegedly showed the woman identification and a number of documents before temporarily placing her in handcuffs.
"The defendant appears to be part of a large criminal network committing very sophisticated, planned and serious crimes," the prosecutor said.
The alleged victim is said to have spoken to a police "team leader" and a prosecutor to organise paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bail.
She continued sending money over the next few weeks until she ran out of funds. Despite this, the enterprise is accused of seeking more money from the woman and eventually demanding it from her family.
The woman claims she was directed to buy makeup and rope before being made to pose in "compromising positions" for photos. These were allegedly sent to her family with ransom demands.
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ACT police eventually found the woman in a hotel room. She told them "she was taken advantage of and felt like she was brainwashed".
On Friday, the court heard Zhang had made claims of being himself a victim of scamming and acting out of fear of deportation.
Defence lawyer Tom Taylor, of Hugo Law Group, said Zhang's conduct was brief and he was not involved in any discussions involving a demand for ransom.
He said there were significant issues with the territory case.
"It's not obvious the elements of kidnapping can be made out on these facts because there was no intent on behalf of Mr Zhang to hold the person for ransom or any other advantage," Mr Taylor said.
The court heard Zhang's "compliance with Tasmania bail is a significant and persuasive factor" in the granting of his territory conditional release.
Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker ultimately granted the man's bail and said she believed some of the prosecution's concerns were speculative.
Zhang's case is set to return to court in July.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
