5 jailed for defrauding woman of Dh100,000

abu dhabi — Five men, accused of taking Dh100,000 from a woman’s bank account after falsely convincing her of winning a raffle, have been jailed for a year.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance handed down the jail sentences to the Pakistani men after they were found guilty of impersonation and fraudulently taking money from the Arab woman and other victims.

The Pakistani men had contacted the Arab woman, claiming to be local bank agents, and told her that she had won Dh500,000 in a bank’s raffle draw. The men asked the woman to send them her bank electronic details so they could transfer the cash into her bank account. After getting account details, the men transferred Dh100,000 from the woman’s account in installments of Dh53,000 and Dh48,000.

Based on the victim’s complaint,

Dh500K amount suspects offered to the victim in prize money

the police arrested 10 people from an apartment, and prosecutors charged five of the men for carrying out fraudulent activities.

Police said the men had rented an apartment in Al Rahba area for their illegal activities. Officers also found many cell phones and SIM cards, which they were using to call people. Officers said the fraudsters had also trapped other innocent victims in the same manner.

The men had confessed to their crimes to the police, but later denied their involvement to the public prosecution. The court, however, convicted them based on their earlier confessions and evidence presented by prosecutors.

ismail@khaleejtimes.com