HONG KONG - A HONG KONG swindler who used fake resumes and documents to scam his way into 12 jobs and steal 3.62 million Hong Kong dollars (S$666,052) has been jailed for seven years, reports said on Wednesday.

Lam Chun-fai, dubbed by local media as Hong Kong's version of the fraudster in Hollywood drama 'Catch Me if You Can', used false documents to win jobs as a psychologist, accounting clerk and marketing boss, The Standard reported.

The 33-year-old was jailed on Tuesday for six years by a district court on 27 charges of fraud, deception and theft, the paper said. Another year was added for a previous sentence where Lam had skipped bail.

Lam was first arrested in 2001 for embezzling HK$135,386.

But he jumped bail before embarking on the elaborate spree, taking two jobs using fake documents before fleeing Hong Kong and re-entering under a false identity, the English-language daily said.

Lam claimed he had a business administration degree from Cambridge University, but police only found evidence of a secondary education.

Using fake qualifications, reference letters and identity cards, Lam stole from his employers by forging cheques, the Standard said.

At one firm, he was promoted from an accounting clerk to general manager within a month. While working as a psychologist in a company designing children's learning programmes he stole educational material, the report added.

Last year, he stole US$350,000 from a safe and used forged notes to cover the missing money.

Police only caught up with him when one of his employers recognised him from a warning issued by the city's Labour Department, the Standard said.

'Catch Me If You Can', starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was based in the real-life story of Frank Abagnale, who posed as a doctor, lawyer and airline pilot to set up cheque frauds worth a total of US$2.5 million. -- AFP