UK: 28 months in prison for a romance fraudster


In the UK, a “romance” scammer has been jailed after trying to scam 670 people.

According to the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), Osagie Aigbonohan, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, used a series of fake names, dating apps and social media networks to find and get in touch with potential victims looking for a relationship.

Serial lover and con man

Among the 41-year-old’s pseudonyms was ‘Tony Eden’. While impersonating Tony, the scammer notably targeted a woman with whom he built a relationship, over a period of 10 months, before begging her to give him money to help him in a incident related to a business abroad.

He led his victim to believe that a machine accident at his job, and the need to pay for workers’ funerals had emptied his bank account, and that he needed to hire drilling equipment to resume his activities. This was followed by fraudulent transfers of 9,500 pounds (about 11,350 euros) to various accounts held under false identities, which ultimately ended up in Osagie Aigbonohan’s personal account.

The scammer went so far as to defraud a woman who was terminally ill, and he “continued to pursue her even after she died,” the NCA says.

28 months in jail

The crime agency estimates that at least 670 people were targeted by the scammer. Of his victims, at least eight people would have sent him money and in total he would have fraudulently collected around 20,000 pounds (around 24,000 euros).

Following an investigation by the NCA, Osagie Aigbonohan was arrested in July last year. He was charged with fraud and money laundering. It was also discovered that his visa had expired, that he was staying in the UK illegally and that he was using a fake driving licence.

In the end, the Southwark Crown Court sentenced Osagie Aigbonohan to 28 months in prison.

Love fraud is on the rise

“Love fraud is a particularly cruel crime, which consists in exploiting the emotional needs and the qualities of attention of a person to extract money from him”, argues James Lewis, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). “People should be especially vigilant in the coming month as we head into Valentine’s Day and more and more people are looking for a partner. »

UK Finance estimates that between January and November 2021, UK residents lost £18.5m (around €22m) to romance scams, a 12% year-on-year increase.

Still in 2021, the FBI estimates that 133 million dollars were fraudulently extracted from the victims of these same scams in the United States.

Source: ZDNet.com





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