Wed Jul 6,11:00 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - An illiterate Chinese man who spent just 20 days in school passed himself off as top government leaders on the phone and swindled his partner out of nearly 14 million yuan ($1.7 million), state media said Wednesday.

Xiao Hanming, 39, from Shantou in booming southern Guangdong province, counterfeited government files and posed as the general manager of projects with direct investment from the central government, the China News Service reported, quoting a local newspaper.

Xiao appeared in a court in the provincial capital of Guangzhou Tuesday charged with swindling.

Xiao attracted a business partner with the business scam, a Mr. Guo, who over the months grew suspicious, the news service said.

"When Guo began to suspect, he received a phone call from two central government leaders," it said. "The leaders' voices were exactly the same as Guo had heard on TV and he felt really flattered."

A fool and his money are soon parted.....