A woman was scammed out of £612,000 by two flatmates who pretended to be a doctor in love with her.
The two men, James Olagbaiye and Adesola Adebayo, collaborated in an online fraud scheme that has now seen both men jailed.
Hailing from Newham, east London, the men were members of an international organised crime group based in the UK and Nigeria.
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They had scammed multiple women and a man out of a total sum of £674,000, a court heard.
On Friday (October 14), the 47-year-old Olagbaiye was sentenced to four years and four months' imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after he had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder.
His 38-year-old partner in crime, Adebayo, was sentenced to four years and six months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to money launder, fraud by false representation, and conspiracy to commit fraud.
One victim in her 60s, lost the equivalent of £612,000 after believing that her online romance was with a London-based British doctor and biologist.
In order to legitimise their con, the scammers sent the woman a photo of a fake British passport that had a picture of an older man.
Posing as a 'doctor', the two men sought money in the form of loan after claiming to have created ventilation machines for the NHS in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Furthering the ruse, the fake doctor asked for more money after claiming he had been arrested abroad.
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The unfortunate victim only realised she had been the subject of a scam after being contacted by detectives following the arrest of the two men.
The seizure of the two men's mobile phones and bank statements helped officers to further identity more victims.
Detective Constable Chris Collins from the Met's Specialist Crime said: "These men have spun a web of lies to their victims and abused their honest intentions in the most awful way.
"I would ask anyone in an online relationship to think carefully before meeting demands for money no matter how heartfelt and convincing their story is."
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