Romance fraudster ‘Tony’ conned hundreds of women on lonely hearts sites
A fraudster who conned one woman out of £10,000 and preyed on hundreds more online is facing jail.
Osagie Aigbonohan, 40, used the fake name ‘Tony Eden’ to scour lonely hearts websites and social media.
Victims of the Nigerian, who lived illegally in the UK, include a terminally ill woman who later died.
He struck up a ten-month relationship with another and got her to lend him £10,000, claiming it was to buy machinery for his business overseas.
Data from Aigbonohan’s phone showed he also received money from at least eight other victims and had been in contact with more than 670 people in total.
He was found carrying a false driver’s licence when he was arrested in July.
Searches of his home also revealed he spent some of his victims’ money on shoes.
Aigbonohan, of Abbey Wood, south-east London, admitted fraud and money laundering at Southwark crown court on Friday. He was remanded to be sentenced next month.
The National Crime Agency’s Dominic Mugan said ‘Romance fraud is a particularly cruel crime that impacts victims both emotionally and financially, with victims often feeling like they’re the ones to blame.
‘Aigbonohan showed total disregard for the victims in this case and was happy to commit further fraud by moving money between various fraudulently held accounts.
‘It’s possible that he contacted more people than we know about.’
Aigbonohan was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on January 14.
Did Tony target you? You can contact Metro.co.uk in confidence at webnews@metro.co.uk
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.