A local man has been sentenced to six years in prison for forging loan documents so he could repay a debt left over from a failed real estate business, Xuhui District People's Court said Sunday.

The defendant, surnamed Chen, pleaded guilty to loan fraud, according to a court press release. He owed the bank 640,000 yuan ($102,851) at the time his case went to trial.

Chen and his partners, surnamed Cai and Weng, took out 736,000 yuan in loans from local banks to settle a 300,000 debt that remained from a defunct real estate business that they started in 2004, according to the court.

The three managed to get the loans by pretending to sell their own apartments to each other, said Ma Chao, a press officer with Xuhui District People's Court. They forged letters of authorization, income statements and other documents to trick the banks into approving the loans.

The three men couldn't actually sell their apartments because they all shared ownership with other family members, Ma told the Global Times.

After they obtained the loans, they paid off their original debt, but squandered the rest of the money, the court said.

Chen went on the run when he realized they couldn't pay back their loans. Weng eventually cracked under the pressure and reported their scheme to the police. Police arrested Chen at a temporary residence in November 2011, the court said.

The court handled Cai and Weng's cases separately.