A victim of Tinder swindler Frank Adozi felt disbelief and numb when she discovered the lying scammer was not the oil rig worker who was well-to-do and down to earth looking for love. The woman, who is older than 32-year-old asylum seeker Adozi, was duped into handing over more than £157,000 to him in just over two months.
As he was jailed for fraud at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, April 1, prosecutor Luc Chignell revealed the true extent of the impact on the victim in a statement she made for the hearing. For her, the situation had been "overwhelming" and "out of control".
Shocked, alone and scared, she now wakes up with night terrors, and felt shame and guilt and suffered anxiety. "It is inhumane what he has done," she said. He took advantage of her good nature and she feels he has taken her dignity away and is constantly fighting her emotions to keep, "my head head high".
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The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, told Nottinghamshire Live after the hearing she was relieved he had been caught and very shaken by it. "He was persuasive. I was completely fooled".
Adozi, of Kneeton Vale, Sherwood, had an accomplice, who has not been found, post a fake picture and identity of a man called "Mark McCarthy" on the dating website, Ourtime, for like-minded singles over 50, which purports to have more than more than 1 million registered users.
Adozi, of Kneeton Vale, Sherwood, had a "cruel ploy" to entice women into a relationship with the fake profile for the purpose of scamming them out of significant sums of money, said Mr Chignell at Nottingham Crown Court.
He repeated his frauds against many others on online sites such as Tinder, then laundered the proceeds. After a recent break-up, the Ourtime victim made contact with Adozi's fake profile. He claimed he grew up overseas and a had a daughter, Tamara, who was at boarding school in New York.
His ploy to get his hands on the victim's money began on March 27, 2021, when he claimed Tamara needed money for her taxi fare, which was £370, because she was having trouble with her bank cards. The victim kindly obliged. But then came more requests in a similar vein - in substantial four figure and five figure amounts - from £10,000, £13,000 and £12,000 - the total amounting to £157,332.25.
The court heard she stopped sending money when she checked a flight he said he was taking from Dubai. There was no such flight and she went to police. He was arrested in a Range Rover Sport and charged with fraud.
He received four years in prison and a five-year restraining order for the Ourtime crime, and asked for six further offences of fraud to be taken into consideration and two money laundering offences, where he had used innocent peoples' accounts. He was successful in those further frauds to the tune of £40,000.
Adozi, who had been to prison for fraud and perverting the course of justice before for the same scam, suggested another man, who has not been caught, took the bulk of the cash.
Mitigating, Susan Gregson-Murray said he had expressed extreme sorrow for the victim. The reason for the offences was, "he had no money at all". As an asylum seeker, immigration did not allow him to work, take part in academic studies or claim benefits or do voluntary work. He lived off the money of a few people he knew.
He came to this country a few years ago. In Nigeria he was threatened because if his sexuality. Miss Gregson-Murray said her client is homosexual and he was getting threats and feared for his life. He came here to study and made his application for asylum.
Recorder Stuart Sprawson adjourned a proceeds of crime application, effectively to investigate the money trail, to July 15.
Police reaction after Adozi was sentenced
Detective Constable Carl Miller, of Nottinghamshire Police’s fraud investigation team, said he was pleased Adozi is now behind bars and unable to harm further women.
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.
“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.
“Romance fraud is a particularly callous offence, and Nottinghamshire Police will always seek to get justice for victims.
“We do this because not only do fraudsters inflict financial loss on their victims, they also cause an enormous amount of emotional hurt and pain.”
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.”
Where to seek help?
People looking to form relationships are urged to take simple steps to help protect themselves, families and friends from romance frauds, with nearly £92 million having been reported lost in the UK in the last year.
Nottinghamshire Police advises anyone using dating websites to avoid giving away too many personal details when speaking online to someone you’ve never met in person, as it can lead to your identity being stolen.
You should stay on the site’s messaging service until you meet in person; don’t be tempted to switch to other platforms that offer less protection. And most importantly, no matter how long you’ve been speaking to someone online and how much you trust them, if you haven’t met them in person do not send them any money.
If you think you have been a victim of fraud you should report it to ActionFraud.police.uk and follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign, which offers straight-forward and impartial advice to help people spot scams and protect themselves against fraud.
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