A
fraudster who posed as an American general serving in Afghanistan conned two
women out of more than £300,000 in just six months in what detectives believe
was a multi-million-pound global scam.
The
conman used images of real-life US soldiers to befriend the women over Skype
saying he wanted to move to the UK to marry them.
He
posed as “General James Krulak” and “General James Raul” and persuaded them to
help transfer his $8.5 million (£5.4 million)
retirement fund — a “box of treasure” from a family in Afghanistan.
Today
Scotland Yard issued an appeal, saying it has identified two other possible
victims of the fraudster but fears there may be many more women who have lost
money.
Detectives
from the Yard’s new FALCON cyber crime unit say they have uncovered evidence
the con was part of a “sophisticated global network” preying on vulnerable
women.
Nigerian
national Robinson Agbonifoayetan, 32, of Welling, is facing jail after pleading
guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation at Isleworth crown court.
The
court heard how the British victim, in her sixties and living in Ealing, was
befriended by a man she believed to be a US general after he contacted her out
of the blue on Skype.
The
man insisted on speaking to her several times a day, paying her countless
compliments and confiding in her about tragic family events, like his parents
and sister dying in a car crash.
Within
days he talked of marrying her and introduced the idea of a box containing
$8.5million, which he said he had been given by a family after he saved their
lives serving in Afghanistan.
She
also agreed to meet an delivery agent at a rail station who produced a United
Nations diplomatic ID card bearing the name Christopher Williams, saying he
came from St Lucia — though the card bore the flag of Belgium. Police say this
was actually Agbonifoayetan, who was also the fake US general on Skype.
The
victim used up her life savings, pawned jewellery, sold her car and took out
loans to pay the spiralling costs before finally becoming suspicious and going
to the police.
Detectives
arrested Agbonifoayetan at Heathrow airport on December 17 2014, as he tried to
leave the country on a flight to Nigeria.
When
police raided his family home in Welling they found a receipt book with details
of a second victim in Devon. The woman, in her fifties, was sold a similar
story by a “General James Raul” and handed over £22,000.
Detectives
are now seeking a compensation order to help the victims recoup some of the
cash, which was sent to Ghana and Nigeria.
Detective
Constable Nick Curtis, who led the inquiry, said: “We are coming across a
number of cases of romance fraud. I urge anyone who thinks they may have been a
victim to report it to police now.”
Source: StandardUK
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