‘I lost £500,000 to pirate-con Romeo’
A BRITISH GP says she was fleeced out of £500,000 by a Romeo fraudster who took her money while living in the world’s tallest building and driving a Lamborghini.
The man, who we are not naming for legal reasons, “borrowed” the cash from her after they met on a singles website.
He claimed he needed it to free up a shipping cargo that had been seized by pirates. But after she had handed over nearly £500,000, he vanished.
The medic, in her 50s, spoke out after learning the man had been arrested on an international warrant in connection with an alleged fraud in Dubai.
He was arrested by the Met Police in London earlier this year after the United Arab Emirates issued the warrant in connection with a separate alleged investment fraud.
The doctor, who fears being named would harm her career, said she was approached on dating site Singlemuslim in 2016.
She said: “I was interested in companionship and believed he was a genuine businessman. He would talk via Skype and showed me all his identity documents, so I trusted him.”
She said he claimed to have £2.2million of goods stuck on a ship that was hijacked on its way to Mozambique, and needed temporary funds while he waited for the insurance payout.
She added: “One of his excuses was that the cargo was later hijacked by pirates. I was too trusting.”
From 2016-19 they met only twice but spoke regularly via Skype as she made large payments for business ventures that never materialised.
The GP flew out to see him in 2016 and found he was living in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building and was pictured driving a Lamborghini.
She said: “In Dubai everyone seemed to know him. He always had an explanation. I thought he respected me. He said he would move to the UK to be with me and I remortgaged properties to send him the money.
“One of the banks notified the police and they visited me but I told them everything was OK.
“In 2017 he told me the cargo had finally arrived and he would be able to pay everything back but needed more money to get it customs clearance.
“I fell for it again and paid him more than £100,000 and could no longer afford to give my children a private education.”
After trying to take legal action, she realised in 2019 that she had lost everything.
In June, she reported the alleged fraud to the Met after informing the UAE authorities.
A Met spokesman said: “[The investigation] was closed by the Met as there is an investigation already taking place in Dubai.
“The Met could re-open the investigation if she is able to obtain the relevant reference numbers from UAE authorities.”
The alleged fraudster, who is on bail from an extradition hearing, has not responded to requests for comment.
‘He always had an explanation’