Susan Bromley

Hometown Life

A 47-year-old woman who resides in the Knightsbridge Gate subdivision along Novi’s western border told police April 17 that a man she met on an online dating website last year took $162,100 of her money and gave her a wrong number.

The woman said she met the suspect, named Ricardo on zoosk.com and was told he was living in Ohio. He then sent her a copy of his passport and after a few weeks, said he needed to relocate to South Africa for two months to build roads, a job he was awarded after bidding for a contract.

She said on Nov. 5, 2015, she received an e-mail from the suspect, who said he needed money to pay a granite company. She transferred $21,000 to him from her Bank of America account to a Bank of America account in Texas under the name of “Wasiu Tunji Nurudeen” per his request. She later sent him various other amounts, including $20,000 on Nov. 10; $24,000 on Dec. 11; $18,000 on Dec. 22; $21,500 on Dec. 23; $23,600 on Jan. 15, $20,000 on Jan. 28 and $14,000 on April 4.

The suspect told the complainant he needed to the money to pay the South African government due to a dispute in the roadwork project. He also claimed he was injured in a construction accident and needed money to fix some equipment. He then alleged he was flying back to the U.S. and was stuck in customs in the United Kingdom due to undeclared diamonds he was paid by the South African government.

The victim said he provided his information to her and she never saw him physically, but spoke with him online and on the phone. She said she realized something was amiss after calling him April 17 and hearing a voicemail recording of a different person. She said recently he had been calling her on a private number.

She filed a complaint with the FBI but has only completed an online complaint so far and has not heard back. She said the man had signed a contract with her stating he will repay the money.

“You need to be very leery about sharing banking information or anything with anyone,” said Novi Police Chief David Molloy. “Many of these scams emanate from Europe, Africa and China, and our resources are limited in what we can do to bring these people to justice.”

The case has been turned over to the Southeast Michigan Financial Crimes Taskforce.

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation runs an internet crimes complaint center to which victims can turn to at www.fbi.gov. Meanwhile, they offer warning signs of possible impending fraud. According to the website, your online “date” may only be interested in your money if he or she:

• Presses you to leave the dating website you met through and to communicate using personal email or instant messaging;

• Professes instant feelings of love;

• Sends you a photograph of himself or herself that looks like something from a magazine;

• Claims to be from the U.S. and is traveling or working overseas;

• Makes plans to visit you but is then unable to do so because of a tragic event; or

• Asks for money for a variety of reasons (travel, medical emergencies, hotel bills, hospitals bills for a child or other relative, visas or other official documents, losses from a financial setback or crime victimization).

Hometown Life reporter Susan Bromley can be reached at sbromley@hometownlife.com, 248-225-4181 or onTwitter: @TheNoviNews

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