Three Nigerians are currently standing trial at Winchester Crown Court for duping vulnerable women of over £220,000 on a dating website called Match.com using fake profiles to pose as middle-aged men and telling victims they are their ‘soulmate’ and ‘inspiration’.
The gang of four; Monty Emu, 28, Eberechi Ekpo, 26, Adewunmi Nusi, 37, and Brooke Boston, 28 invented a story about needing money to ‘free up’ a £1.5million inheritance locked in an Indian bank account to press the ‘vulnerable’ singletons for cash. One woman paid them £174,000 in total, the court heard.
Once they lured a woman they would exchange messages on the site and then move to text messages and email, where they were unmonitored, jurors heard.
The victims were told Mr Richards’ father had died and left him £1.5million. He asked them for £700 to help fund a trip to India to access it. Mr Richards’ went on the trip but hit problems and needed more money to obtain a series of certificates and an affidavit to release his inheritance, the story went, with the sums ranging from £10,000 to £100,000.
The scam included a fictitious lawyer, Rod Thompson of ‘Quality Solicitors’, fake court documents and tax clearance certificates.
Boston, Emu and Ekpo, from Southsea, Hampshire, and Nusi, of Thatcham, Berkshire, deny money laundering between August 2012 and December 2013. Boston and Ekpo deny committing fraud by false representation from March 1, 2012, and February 9 2014.
Boston’s husband Emmanuel Oko, 29, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fraud and money laundering, and Chukwuka Ugwu, 28, has pleaded guilty to money laundering.
The trial, set to last four weeks, continues. (Story credit: Dailymail)
No comments:
Post a Comment