PHOTO: Yida Benny Xiong outside court in 2016. ABC News: Rebecca Opie

Fraudster Yida Benny Xiong has escaped jail in an Adelaide court for stealing more than $300,000 from two female foreign investors in a property scam that helped fund his luxurious lifestyle.

Key points:

  • Xiong was found guilty of two charges of theft
  • He was given a sentence of three years and four months’ jail, fully suspended
  • He has almost completely reimbursed his victims

District Court Judge Wayne Chivell said Xiong enjoyed giving off the impression that he was a “successful businessman”.

“It seems that you may have become intoxicated by the ease with which you could manipulate people, people who were so far away and who had so little idea about Australia,” he said during sentencing.

READ MORE VIA ABC