Romance fraudsters jailed at Guildford over money laundering

Five men have been jailed after exploiting people through romance fraud and stealing more than £2m in a money laundering operation.

There were 40 confirmed victims between 2017 and 2024, but the total number of suspected victims of fraud was 99, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Fawaz Ali, 27, Ebenezer Tackie, 42 and Michael Quartey, 28, were found guilty of money laundering offences and sentenced to four years and 10 months, four years and six months, and five years and six months in prison respectively at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday.

Kwabena Edusei, 37, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months, while George Melseaux, 40, was sentenced to three years and nine months.

One victim stated: “I lost my home as I could not keep up with the cost of rising bills.

“I feel so embarrassed and ashamed that I was scammed so I have not told anyone about this and have lied to my family and friends.

“I am very wary when any man tries to get close to me as I always wonder if he will try and scam me.”

Another victim said: “It’s ruined me as a person, it took years for me to start to trust anyone again.”

“How can people live with themselves after the hurt they create and the long-lasting damage they leave behind?”

Victims were asked for money to cover fake expenses, including fines in remote locations or urgent travel costs. They transferred money to the bank accounts of the men or even sent cash in the post, according to the CPS.

“The men used flirtatious language to manipulate people into thinking they were entering into a genuine loving and caring relationship”, a CPS spokesperson said.

The majority of the transactions were conducted in the UK with some overseas victims identified throughout Europe, USA and Australia.

“The criminals here showed complete disregard for their victims who were met on an online dating website for the sole purpose of exploiting and scamming them out of money, said Jane Mitchell, a specialist CPS prosecutor.

“They used grooming tactics to gain trust, which caused terrible emotional distress to victims.”