Two romance fraudsters who conned woman out of £612k are jailed

Two romance fraudsters who conned woman in Switzerland out of £612k after they pretended to be a doctor from London who was in love with her are jailed for eight years

• Two flatmates conned woman by pretending to be a doctor in love with her 
• James Olagbaiye and Adesola Adebayo, from Newham, east London, are jailed
• They scammed multiple women and a man out of a total of £674k, a court heard

Two flatmates who scammed a woman out of £612,000 by pretending to be a doctor in love with her as part of an online romance fraud scheme have been jailed.

James Olagbaiye and Adesola Adebayo, both from Newham, east London, were part of an international organised crime group based in the UK and Nigeria and scammed multiple women and a man out of a total of £674,000, a court heard. 

Five victims in the USA, Switzerland, and different parts of the UK were identified during the investigation, including one woman who believed her online romance was with a British doctor living in London. 

On Friday, Olagbaiye was sentenced to four years and four months’ imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after the 47-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder.  

His 38-year-old flatmate, Adebayo, was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to money launder, fraud by false representation, and conspiracy to commit fraud.

The court heard both men were part of an international organised crime group who scammed victims by becoming romantically involved with them.

Adesola Adebayo, from Newham, east London, was sentenced to four years and six months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to conspiracy to money launder, fraud by false representation, and conspiracy to commit fraud

His flatmate James Olagbaiye was sentenced to four years and four months’ imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court after the 47-year-old pleaded guilty to conspiracy to money launder

One victim in her 60s, from Switzerland, lost the equivalent of £612,000. She believed her online romance was with a British doctor and biologist living in London. 

The scammers sent her a photo of a fake British passport bearing the photo of an older gentleman as part of the ruse.

The ‘doctor’ claimed to have produced ventilation machines for the NHS to help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and sought the victim’s money as a loan for this venture. 

The ‘loan’ was subsequently paid into different UK and USA based money mule bank accounts under the defendants’ control.

The fake doctor also claimed he had been arrested overseas and required further financial support, all part of the ruse. 

This victim only realised she had been scammed after she was contacted by detectives following the arrest of the two men. 

The team identified a further female victim from the USA, a man and two women from the UK and the fraud was uncovered following the arrest of another man in August 2020. 

Olagbaiye and Adebayo were arrested on October 29 in 2020. 

The pair were jailed at Southwark Crown Court on Friday (stock image) A confiscation investigation will follow convictions, where assets are sought in favour of returning some of the losses to the victims

During their arrests, officers seized their mobile phones and bank statements which led them to identify further victims.

Later examination of the evidence revealed Adebayo had also provided a safe address of a trusted associate, who would agree to receive mail, so bank accounts could be set up for the purpose of falsely claiming Covid-19 Bounce Bank Loans. 

Adebayo attempted to claim £98,000 but was not successful.

Detective Constable Chris Collins from the Met’s Specialist Crime said: ‘These men have spun a web of lies to their victims and abused their honest intentions in the most awful way. I would ask anyone in an online relationship to think carefully before meeting demands for money no matter how heartfelt and convincing their story is.’

A confiscation investigation will follow convictions, where assets are sought in favour of returning some of the losses to the victims. 

If you suspect you have been a victim of fraud or if you believe someone is trying to access your pension, you should call Action Fraud – 0300 123 2040.

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