Joburg woman loses R1.9m in another online love scam

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation has pounced on an apparent ‘Allen Grey’ who allegedly swindled R1.9 million from a potential partner looking for love online.

40-year-old Omotese Ebor, also known as ‘Tessy’, allegedly portrayed herself as a successful Western Cape-based businessman named Allen Grey looking for love on Facebook.

The victim, who wants to remain anonymous, told police that a few days into their online romance, Ebor started asking to borrow money, claiming his bank account had been hacked.

Between December 2016 and January 2018, Ebor would allegedly go on to swindle R1.9 million out of his internet lover.

The money was reportedly transferred into different bank accounts, including an amount of R857,000 into Ebor’s business bank account.

The victim then decided to report the romance and theft to the police.

The Hawks managed to get a breakthrough in the case on Sunday when Ebor was located in a church service in Sandton and was arrested.

“Authorities successfully secured a warrant of arrest against all positively linked perpetrators on this matter,” said Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu.

“A multi-disciplinary approach driven operation was conducted by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation and the Tactical Operation Management Services (TOMS) in Sandton, where Ebor was arrested during a church service.”

Ebor appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday, on charges of fraud and money-laundering.

The court remanded Ebor in custody pending an investigation.

Meanwhile, Hawks swooped in on another date scammer.

Earlier this year, 31-year-old Fortune Nomfusi was arrested in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, in the Western Cape after similar allegations were made against her.

R70,000 was deposited into Nomfusi’s bank account by her alleged victim.

She has since been granted R3,000 bail by the same court.

Authorities have cautioned the public who seek romance online to always be vigilant against the possible criminals hiding behind the name of love.

“Perpetrators out there may lure the unsuspecting and vulnerable romance seekers online for exploitation purposes as well,” said Mulamu.

The case has been postponed to Friday, 25 March 2022.

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