Beijing, Nov 19 (IANS): A Chinese businessman, infamous for his claims to have purchased an imaginary US bank, was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday, according to a court ruling.

The businessman, Li Chunping, was jailed for making false value-added tax invoices worth 520 million yuan ($84.8 million), reported Xinhua.

Li, 43, from Wenzhou city in China's Zhejiang province, was accused of making 1,266 false value-added tax invoices and selling them to 315 companies across the country between September 2011 and May 2012 for profit, a Wenzhou Intermediate People's Court ruling said.

Li was also accused of making false tax rebate invoices. All of Li's personal wealth has been confiscated, according to the ruling.

Another six accomplices were given jail terms of less than ten years, and two of them received reprieves, the ruling added.

The businessman was hailed by the local government and the media as a "financial hero" for Wenzhou after claiming to have purchased the "Atlantic Bank of America" in 2011, which was later found to be non-existent.