A conman has been jailed for life after being found guilty of stealing millions of yuan from a woman he met on a matchmaking website.

The offender, identified only as Huang, registered with the dating site in October 2011 and posed as a Chinese-American to lure women, according to media reports.

Huang met a woman surnamed Xie and, after communicating online, convinced her to invest 7.05 million yuan ($1.1 million) in a fake canal project overseas.

According to Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court, the crime was pre-meditated and Huang tried to escape legal sanction. He also pleaded not guilty and refused to return the money.

The court said about 3.35 million yuan has been recovered. All of Huang's personal property has been confiscated.