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A group of matchmaking agencies in southwestern China has come under police investigation for orchestrating elaborate scams that defrauded single men of large sums of money. These schemes often involved women posing as potential brides, with some reportedly earning up to 300,000 yuan (approximately $42,000) within just a few months.
The Guiyang court in Guizhou province revealed that since March last year, the Huaguoyuan police station has received 180 reports of matchmaking-related fraud. Among these cases, 50 disputes involving significant matchmaking fees have already been resolved.
These fraudulent schemes often began with matchmaking agencies renting upscale offices in Huaguoyuan to appear legitimate and trustworthy. Agency staff actively sought out single men, particularly from rural or remote areas where finding a bride has become increasingly challenging due to gender imbalances and urban migration trends. At the same time, these agencies recruited single women - many of them divorced and in financial trouble - and persuaded them to participate in the scams.
The fraudulent marriages, dubbed “flash weddings,” typically unfolded quickly. Male clients would meet women arranged by the agencies, and within days, they would agree to marry. The men were then required to sign contracts with the agency and pay hefty bride prices, often amounting to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
After marriage, the women would frequently vanish, file for divorce, or create conflicts to coerce the men into ending the relationship. One notorious participant in the scheme reportedly earned 300,000 yuan in three months through multiple flash marriages.
In one case, a woman married a client in December and quickly filed for divorce, citing domestic violence. She kept the 170,000 yuan ($23,000) bride price and took additional shared property, including a car purchased by her husband. Following the divorce, she continued attending blind dates, with the agency actively hiding her marital history.
A man surnamed Liao shared his ordeal with Red Star News. In May, he traveled from central Hubei province to Guiyang to meet a woman introduced by an agency. Within two days, they registered their marriage, and Liao paid a cash gift of 118,000 yuan ($16,000) to the bride’s family.
However, the marriage quickly soured. Liao’s wife frequently returned to Guiyang, demanded a house and a car, and initiated frequent arguments. He later discovered that she had hidden the fact that she was already a mother of five. When Liao sought a refund from the agency, he learned that it had been shut down as part of the police crackdown.
According to a former customer service worker at one of these matchmaking agencies, there was no shortage of male clients. “We don’t worry about finding male customers,” the worker told Red Star News. “There are plenty across the country. We could match 40 to 50 men with potential dates daily.”
However, following the intensified crackdown in Guiyang, many of these agencies have reportedly relocated their operations to nearby Yunnan province, where authorities have yet to target them as aggressively.
Source: SCMP
