Businessman claims fiancée lied about cancer, career and citizenship
Wei Lin claims an open email account led to discovery that beloved's documents were Chinese forgeries
A Vancouver businessman who claims he quit his job to care for his terminally ill fiancée is now suing the woman after allegedly learning she wasn't really sick, wealthy, Japanese or Russian.
According to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court last week, Wei Lin says Xin Ran Xu's "true credentials and employment history are unknown" to him.
He's now suing to recover more than $200,000 he claims he spent on investments, a car and wedding preparations — only to learn she allegedly ordered her credentials through a Chinese document altering service.
"[She] sent to the document alteration service detailed instructions on format she desired in the forgeries," Wei's lawsuit reads.
"[She] sent templates upon which to base the forgeries and drafted the content she desired to (be) substituted into the templates."
'Her illness was likely terminal'
Wei claims he started casually dating Xu — also known as Era Xu — in 2015.
At the time, he says, she said she had a degree in business administration and had recently moved back to Canada from Japan to work with an "extremely wealthy and prominent Vancouver businessperson."
Wei claims Xu also told him she held Chinese, Japanese and Russian passports and came from a rich family.
But she also said "she had developed a brain tumour during her undergraduate education" and had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a "particularly malignant form of brain cancer."
Wei claims he bought her a Chevrolet Camaro and invested in a business on her recommendation.
He says she moved in with him in June 2016, and he agreed to lend her $100,000 to invest in a dance studio.
Wei claims the couple got engaged, and he quit his job to spend more time with Xu after she told him "her health was deteriorating and suggested her illness was likely terminal."
'Seemingly sudden and miraculous cure'
But in March 2017, Wei says Xu told him she was calling off the wedding.
He claims she also told him her cancer had been cured by experimental treatment at a New Jersey clinic.
"In light of [her] seemingly sudden and miraculous cure among other things, Wei became suspicious," the lawsuit says.
"[Xu] provided various documents in order to alleviate his suspicions."
Wei claims the documents included an acceptance letter from Stanford University and medical records from Vancouver Coastal Health.
But he says that while accessing a computer in his home office, he noticed it was still logged into Xu's email account.
"Wei decided to sign out of the Gmail account, but in the process of doing so noticed an email with a subject line apparently related to the documents," the claim reads.
"Upon viewing the email, Wei discovered that it was an email to a document alteration service in China."
Wei claims he subsequently learned that his former fiancée never had cancer and didn't have a business degree or extensive experience in the banking world.
He says she also didn't have Japanese or Russian citizenship, had never met the wealthy Vancouverite and was not adopted.
Confronted with the discrepancies, Wei claims Xu admitted to forging her resumé and signed a promissory note for $200,000. But he claims she hasn't repaid any of the money and has now listed her home for sale.
Wei is suing for fraudulent misrepresentation and asking for either the amount of the promissory note or damages that would cover the variety of expenses he spent during their time together.
Xu has yet to file a response.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
