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London Woman Found Guilty Of Scamming £100,000 From Four Men Says She Was Part Of Larger Scheme

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A London scammer faces jail after being found guilty of scamming four men out of £100,000.

Grace Akintaro, 24, targeted four men through Match.com, pretending to be a woman named Amanda Jenson.

Using photos stolen from someone online, Akintaro persuaded the men to hand over cash for travel expenses for trips to meet them, trips she later cancelled.

One man handed over £46,000, another giving money from his dead wife’s life insurance policy.

The scams took place between August 2014 and December 2015, Akintaro even speaking on the phone with at least two of her victims.

The Greenwich woman was helped in her scam by Victoria Nwogu, 22, who pleaded guilty to laundering £3,490 from the scam.

The 24-year-old was convicted of seven counts of fraud by false representation at Woolwich Crown Court, but was freed on bail with Nwogu until sentencing on 20th June.

Judge Nicholas Heathcote Williams QC said: “These were romance frauds and the fact I am ordering a pre-sentence report is no indication as to the sentence. There is a real prospect she will go to prison.”

Akintaro told the court the scam was the brainchild of someone else, saying: “I was naive and used by this person I was in love with.”

The total sum scammed from the men was £104,962, Akintaro making 16 trips to the bank to withdraw cash.

However, police found she only had a Renault Clio worth £5,000 and a few hundred pounds, Akintaro claiming the rest of the money had been passed on to others in the scheme.

Prosecutor Kevin Dent said: “She may not have been at the top of this, but played a role over a period of time.”

Simon Edmunds

Simon is the former editor of Global Dating Insights. Born in Newcastle, he has an English degree from Queen Mary, London and after working for the NHS, trained as a journalist with the Press Association. Passionate about music, journalism and Newcastle United.

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