Feigned government power is becoming a favored tactic for imposters who take advantage of victims' beliefs that money buys them favor when dealing with public offices, according to research by the Fengtai district Court in Beijing.

Frauds involving defendants impersonating government officials took up an ever-growing share of the court's cases between December 21, 2007, and June 21 this year, said the research released on Sunday.

Imposters most often pose as military and judicial officials, the research found.

"The government is in the midst of an unprecedented trust crisis," wrote Judge Zhang Yong in the research report. "The people, disbelieving the government will do its job honestly, seek to turn the system in their favor through bribery."

Zhang's report noted that the "public offices" in his report include executive branches of the government and military.

"Fake government" frauds accounted for 38.5 percent of all fraud cases the court disposed of in 2009, and 42 percent of this year's cases. The victims believed they were bribing the system to escape trouble or gain personal favor.

"After 30 years of economic reform, China is falling back to where it has been for thousands of years: a country where unchecked government power trumps all," said Renmin University sociologist Zhou Xiaozheng.