Police: Art Student Fakes Kidnapping To Get $85K From Father In China

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PASADENA (CBSLA) — A Pasadena art student faces charges of extortion Friday after police say she faked her own kidnapping in order to con her father in China out of $85,000 to pay her supposed ransom.

Yimei Wang, 20, a student at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, was arrested early Wednesday and booked on suspicion of extortion. She was released hours later after posting $30,000 bail, according to sheriff's inmate records.

Pasadena police say Wang sent her parents a photo of her bound and gagged, prompting her father to send the money. Wang's mother called police to report that her daughter had been kidnapped, but when officers investigated, they found her alone at a motel on Colorado Boulevard on Wednesday morning, according to the Pasadena Star-News.

After Wang was found safe, she admitted to scamming her own parents, police said.

The case remains under investigation.