Match.com Dating Scam: Four Jailed for Duping Single Women of £220,000

Jailed: Monty Emu, Adewunmi Nusi, Emmanuel Oko, and Chukwuka Ugwu

The four men picture above, are jailed for almost 14 years  for their cruel dating scam through match.com. Their victims were duped  after they responded to the false profile of an "attractive middle-aged man" on match.com which sent messages, emails and texts of love and "overblown affection". 

Once the relationship had developed with the fake man, normally called James Richards, the conspirators started requesting cash. FIrst the woman are asked to pay 700 pounds legal fee by a fake solicitor and then the sums requested rose up to 100,000. 

The vulnerable women were conned out of 220,000, with one victim Suzanne Hardman, handing over 174,000 pounds.

Adewunmi Nusi and victim Suzanne Hardman 

At the end of the three-week trial, Oko, said to be the end of the conspiracy was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for the fraud and four years to run concurrently for the money laundering offence.  

Emu, who laundered about £55,000 during nine months, was jailed for three and a half years, Ugwu was jailed for 46 weeks and Nusi was imprisoned for 18 months.

Ms Hardman, from Basingstoke, said that the fraud had led to her suffering sleepless nights and not eating because of the stress and that she had lost her self-respect. 

She said: "From the day I reported the incident to the police, I felt very vulnerable and sick to my stomach. As I look back, I felt groomed and that is how I became a victim of this, I wouldn't want anyone else to be a victim of this type of crime. 

"I do feel a duty to warn others, women specifically, of this type of theft over dating websites and the internet".

Credit: Mirror UK