KUNMING, March 12-- A 29-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for involvement in a funding scam in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Thursday.

The Intermediate People's Court of Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe convicted Bai Zhanjiang of raising more than 470 million yuan (about 76 million U.S. dollars) from others by fraudulent means.

The court said Bai amassed the fortune by fabricating facts, deliberately hiding the truth and promising high returns as an incentive.

He began to collect money from 32 lenders in the name of expanding cross-border trade and real estate businesses between 2010 and 2012, the court said.

However, he used most of the funds to pay off high interest loans and buy houses and luxury sedans for himself and his family.

The court said he was unable to return more than 80 million yuan to lenders. Bai gave himself up to the police in December 2012.

All of his wealth was confiscated.