A Chinese fashion influencer with three million followers has accused her longtime personal assistant of secretly stealing her identity and earning over $160,000 in livestream tips by posing as a wealthy Harvard student.
Chen Xin went public with the allegations on January 24, claiming her assistant of six years fabricated an entirely separate online persona using her photos, home, clothes, and luxury belongings.
According to Chinese media reports, Chen was tipped off by a viewer who claimed another woman was inside her home wearing her outfits and jewelry while taking photos.
Assistant allegedly used influencer’s home, clothes and edited photos with AI
Chen says the assistant, surnamed Jiang, used her passwords to enter the property while she was away. Jiang allegedly wore Chen’s luxury clothing, including pajamas and stockings, and posed with her designer bags and jewelry to create a “rich beauty” persona.
Chen claims Jiang also showcased high-end hotels and restaurants online, locations Chen herself had visited, to strengthen the illusion.
In addition, Jiang is accused of using unused photos taken by Chen and altering them with AI, replacing Chen’s body with her own and editing her face to appear heavily beautified.
Chen alleged the deception may have been happening since June 2023.
She claimed Jiang repeatedly entered her home when she wasn’t there, wore her clothing and accessories, and presented Chen’s house, car, watches, and other luxury items as her own.
According to the South China Morning Post, Jiang also portrayed herself as a rich young Chinese woman studying at Harvard Medical School.
In January, she reportedly hosted a livestream centered on “intelligent woman’s growth,” earning 1.14 million yuan, roughly $164,000, in fan tips.
Chen said the livestream activity only began this year, generating tens of thousands of yuan before escalating.
The influencer explained that Jiang originally approached her as a fan, claiming she wanted financial independence from her poor family and asking to borrow money.
Instead, Chen offered her a job despite Jiang having only graduated from junior secondary school, hoping to give her stable income while learning media skills.
Chen said she treated Jiang like someone close to her, teaching her photography, editing, and composition skills, and giving her regular work roughly half the month.
She also claimed she transferred money to Jiang’s father after he fractured himself in a fall and again when Jiang took leave to care for him.
Chen Xin says her assistant stole her identity.
Chen said she felt deeply betrayed after discovering the alleged identity theft.
Influencer takes legal action against assistant
When confronted, Chen claims Jiang admitted she “did something wrong out of vanity.”
Initially, Chen said she did not want to pursue legal action, asking only that Jiang publicly apologize and refund the livestream tips earned through the alleged fraud.
However, Jiang allegedly backtracked, blocked her, and denied most of the accusations, admitting only to using a few of her photos and wearing her clothes.
Chen has now issued a lawyer’s letter accusing Jiang of infringing on her portrait rights, reputation, and privacy.
This is not the first wild streaming incident to come out of China. Last year, a man divorced his wife after discovering she sent $94,000 to a male streamer, leaving him deep in debt.
