They give love a bad name, indeed.
A woman from Guimaras Islands was swindled by her online sweetheart in a heartbreaking dating scam, which has led to the arrest of five fraudsters in an entrapment operation led by the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI).
The victim lost a total of PHP30 million after she was invited by “Stephen Desmond Nelson” to invest in fictitious businesses after they developed a romantic relationship online.
Nelson and the victim first met via a dating site in March 2016. Nelson claimed to be an American with an oil-related business in Malaysia. He was able to convice the 52-year-old widow to invest in an expansion venture in the Philippines.
In less than a year, the victim sent a total of PHP20 million to Nelson through money transfer companies. Plus, Nelson was also able to withdraw at least PHP10 million from the victim’s bank account.
The victim “sold or pawned two vehicles, a resort, boarding houses in Mindanao and Manila and other properties so she could send money to Malaysia,” reports Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The NBI subsequently set up three entrapment operations at a shopping mall to catch the fraudsters. Authorities have arrested a Filipina, two Malaysian nationals and two Nigerian nationals in relation to the crime.
The suspects are curently detained at the NBI regional office, and are facing complaints of syndicated estafa in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act. NBI believes that they could be part of an international syndicate.
