Padua – At the age of 70 I felt lonely. Retired and with no one to take care of her, she longed for company. Why not a romantic relationship? Thus, through a dating chat, she met what she thought was her boyfriend. Military medic in the United States Army. But as the weeks went by, he realized he was the victim of a scam. Despite the disgrace, he had the strength to file a complaint with the police. And two Nigerian citizens of about 40 years old ended up in trouble, accused of fraud and money laundering. The victims identified so far, thanks to the investigations carried out by the Public Prosecutor Sergio Dini, are in total three: in addition to the Padawan also an elderly woman residing in Lombardy and one from Trento.
The Fake American Doctor
In September of this year, a lonely pensioner tried to find a company thanks to a dating chat. The 70-year-old Padawan was “hooked” by an orthopedic surgeon in the US Air Force. the doctor He also sent her a picture of him in military uniform, a handsome, white-skinned man in uniform, and some army papers. The relationship began He asked the woman for $1,900, because he had to open some of his bags with his personal belongings seized at customs. Satisfied that she was loved by the American white coat, the old woman turned to a checking account which he referred to. The chatty affair, with love letters in English, continued until October when he asked her out to an orthopedic surgeon More money to support critical Medicare. And it is at this point in the love story that the pensioner realizes that she has been deceived. So he filed a police complaint.
on the money trail
Through the checking account number where the old lady made the transfer, investigators traced it to a bank in Germany. from here By following the effects left by the flow of money They spotted a Nigerian man in his 40s. He could have been the one defrauding the Padawan woman as well as two other pensioners: one from Lombardy and some thirty. In those two cases too, he would have used the same technique, but pretending to be an engineer. Then the carabinieri discovered the presence of a partner. Another Nigerian, also in his forties, allegedly kept money from the scams in various checking accounts. The crime of money laundering hangs over him. In total, the two had stolen around 20,000 euros from the three victims, but the investigations are still in the beginning. The two of them carried out all the operations through a computer.
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