Jeremy Ornstin represented a defendant who was charged with allowing her bank accounts to be used to receive over £250,000 obtained in a type of scam called a ‘romance fraud’.

The co-accused targeted victims through international dating sites. The victims, all middle-aged women based in the USA, became involved in what they believed to be genuine long romantic liaisons. The co-accused, a young Nigerian, represented himself on the internet as a white middle-aged businessman looking for a serious relationship, leading to marriage. He would follow up replies to his adverts and webpage with phone calls and photos and other false information about himself, and once he had gained trust he would seek ‘loans’ from the women, using the pretext that he needed the money to release materials and other commodities that had been held up abroad. The authorities believed he obtained hundreds of thousands of pounds from more than 25 women, often their life savings. Many faced ruin.

The money was sent on his instructions to our client’s bank accounts, which was then withdrawn in cash or sent to Nigeria.

Our client received an 18-month sentence for laundering the proceeds of the romance fraud.