Police have released the mug shot of a man who used a dating app to scam a woman out of £150,000. Frank Adozi, of Kneeton Vale, Sherwood, used a fake profile on dating website "Our Time" of a middle-aged oil rig worker in search of love.
However, the 32-year-old, who was in fact a gay penniless asylum seeker, was lying. Using the false name Mark McCarthy, he was also attracting women to give him their cash on Tinder and other online sites and amassed a further £40,000 from them.
It happened 14 months after he was released from his last sentence of four-and-half years for perverting the course of justice and two frauds, where he set up a false ID and exploited others. His main victim, who wishes to remain anonoymous, met him on "Our Time" after her relationship ended.
Read more: Nottingham 'Tinder Swindler' told string of lies to scam woman out of £150,000
Adozi was jailed for four years after admitting the offence involving the main victim, and asked for six further frauds - some successful, some not - to be taken into consideration, as well as two money laundering offences. He was handed a restraining order for five years.
Detective Constable Carl Miller, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud investigation team, said he was pleased Adozi is now behind bars.
He 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."
Detective Sergeant Ashley Xavier, who oversaw the investigation, added: “Adozi demonstrated a cynical disregard for his victims, grooming them with romantic promises before dishonestly persuading them to provide him with financial assistance.
“Thanks to extensive and thorough investigatory work and the support of the individual victims, Nottinghamshire Police has brought an end to Adozi’s fraudulently activities. Hopefully, this case will serve to act as a deterrent to other romance fraudsters who prey on victims in the same way.”
