A Shaanxi Province man who posted pictures of himself posing with stacks of counterfeit money on social media was sentenced to five years in jail.

The 27-year-old Yulin resident, surnamed Bai, was convicted after officers found in possession of 40,000 yuan ($21,882) in fake currency, China's Ministry of Public Security posted on its Sina Weibo account Thursday. 

Local police were led to Bai after he posted the incriminating photos of himself on the popular messaging app WeChat.

In the photos, Bai appeared with large quantities of what officers identified as counterfeit cash, the ministry wrote in the post.

Bai told officials he was keeping the money for a friend and posted the photograph to "show off his wealth," cnwest.cn reported.

In addition to the five-year sentence, Bai was also fined 50,000 yuan, to be paid in real money.