She was a runaway bride — but not before allegedly grabbing $72,000 in wedding gifts on her way out.
A Brooklyn man claims his pregnant fiancée bolted just two days after their traditional Chinese wedding and refuses to return a $24,000, two-carat diamond engagement ring and a pile of cash and checks, according to a new lawsuit.
Kevin Li, of Bay Ridge, says Amy Chan, 33, also made off with two diamond necklaces, three gold necklaces, a gold ring and a gold bracelet that generous relatives showered on the happy couple.
Just days after the lavish nuptials, she told him she was going to her parents’ house for the night — but never came back and cut off communication with him completely, according to the suit.
The couple had been dating for a year when Chan became pregnant, according to Manhattan Supreme Court papers.
They got engaged, but Li claims that Chan declined to wed legally because she said she was on a waiting list for an apartment and feared their combined marital income would make her ineligible for the Financial District studio.
So instead of going to City Hall for a license, Li and Chan celebrated their union by hosting more than 100 friends and relatives at a popular Chinatown dim sum restaurant.
The couple, who both work in finance, gave the gifts to Chan’s mother to “inventory,” but Li says he never saw them again.
After spending the night at her parents’ Manhattan apartment, Chan officially dumped Li a week later, according to court papers. But not before returning to their Brooklyn home to clear out more gifts, he alleges.
The thousands of dollars Chan took before she left included a $36,500 “betrothal” payment Li made to his future mother-in-law, funds that were supposed to be gifted back to the couple, according to the suit.
Li says he only wants to return the gifts to his relatives, but Chan told The Post her ex isn’t being truthful. “He’s lying,” she said. “He is a devil.”
Chan charges that Li is the one who cut off communication and that he is also holding onto wedding presents: cash given by her relatives. She describes him as a deadbeat and uncaring dad to their twin boys.
“What I got myself into was a disaster relationship,” she said bitterly. “He took everything [from] my relatives. They gave me tons of money, that [he] took. If he won’t give that back, I’m not giving him back anything. He’s not a human being.”
Li’s lawyer, Phil Brown, denied that his client was a deadbeat and said they hoped to resolve the conflict. Li is asking a judge to force Chan to return the jewels and cash.