Promotional material of Catch Me If You Can, a movie about a con man Photo: Screenshot of Douban 

  

A woman from East China's Zhejiang Province, who was defrauded of more than 2 million yuan ($289,770) by a gang of friendly swindlers, was reluctant to assist police because the experience cured her depression, she claims.

The woman, surnamed Li who runs a garment business, had been diagnosed with depression when she got to know a man who said his name was Guo and claimed to be from Southwest China's Sichuan Province. 

Guo and Li frequently chatted on social media, which made her feel "delighted," she said.  She soon took Guo's advice and started investing in the futures market, Xiandai Kuaibao reported on Thursday. But they never met in real life. 

Li was not upset with the man even after police told her he was conning her. 

Police officers spent days showing Li pictures of the gang and telling her how other people had been victimized by Guo. She finally agreed to report her losses. 

"He helped me when I was down, even though he cheated me," Li was quoted as saying by Xiandai Kuaibao.  

Police said the con man is from Sichuan who recruited some 30 young people to befriend businesswomen between the ages of 30 and 50 over social media and swindled them out of millions of yuan.  

All 30 members of the gang were arrested in January and the investigation is ongoing. 

Xiandai Kuaibao