A romance swindler has been jailed after conning a woman out of £157,000, having contacted her using a dating website and on social media.
Frank Adozi, 32, used the name ‘Mark McCarthy’ to strike up a relationship with the victim, in turn persuading her to send him vast amounts of money.
Nottinghamshire Police said Adozi invented a story about working on an oil rig, saying he had taken the wrong bank card with him but urgently needed to borrow cash to cover travel costs and to send money to his daughter.
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After he gained her trust, the woman ended up making 34 transfers totalling £157,332.25 over a two-month period, expecting to get the money back so she could put it towards a new house.
However, she began to uncover his web of lies and called the police in May 2021, telling officers that her online acquaintance had initially seemed ‘nice’ and ‘genuine’ but that she gradually felt increasingly pressured to send him money after being emotionally blackmailed.
Adozi, from Kneeton Vale in Sherwood, Nottingham, was stopped by police for driving offences on 6 January 2022 and, after officers checked his details, was then arrested due to being an outstanding suspect for romance fraud – with enquiries later revealing he had targeted at least six other woman, four of whom said they had been tricked into transferring money.
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After pleading guilty to fraud by false representation, Adozi was jailed for four years at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 1 April.
The court heard how he was a prolific fraudster who had previously been jailed for four-and-a-half years for similar offences.
The woman who lost more than £157,000 to Adozi said she met him on a dating website in January 2021 – his profile saying he was aged 60, from Nottingham and 6ft tall, adding that he had a master’s degree, had children, was ‘trying to quit smoking’ and was looking for a ‘real relationship’.
Her witness statement said: “He explained to me he was born in Australia and grew up in the United States. He said in 2005 he relocated to the UK to be with his wife Lisa who had now sadly died.
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“He had a 13-year-old daughter Tamara who was attending a boarding school in New York. He told me he was thinking of leaving the dating site as he was worried about attracting the wrong kind of person who would just be after his money.
“He came across as a nice family man who was down-to-earth and genuine.”
She realised she had been scammed when Adozi told her he was getting ready to board a British Airways flight from Dubai to the UK. After checking the flights, she saw there were no scheduled British Airways flights between the two destinations.
The woman’s bank has since refunded less than half the amount she was scammed out of.
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One victim was also conned out of £1,930 by the ‘sweet-talking’ fraudster, while another lost £1,430 after Adozi concocted a false story that persuaded her to transfer him money for taxi fares and flights back to the UK.
Detective Constable Carl Miller, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud investigation team, said: “Adozi had no regard for his victims. He went to great lengths to build rapport and gain their trust, before fabricating stories to exploit them out of thousands.
“The fact that one victim lost £157,000 – money she planned to buy a house with – makes this one of the worst romance frauds we’ve ever come across. It is also a unique case in that the fraudster operated from the UK as opposed to being based overseas.”
According to Nottinghamshire Police, nearly £92 million has been reported to have been lost in romance frauds in the UK in the last year.
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Miller added: “Fraudsters like Adozi target people in vulnerable situations and have no care that they may financially ruin their victims.
“In this case, a number of victims were identified who had not contacted police. We want to encourage all those who think they’ve been a victim of romance fraud to not feel embarrassed or ashamed but rather report it.”
Featured Image Credit: Nottinghamshire Police/AlamyTopics: UK News