Online dating scammers may have duped over 50 victims

Two conmen who preyed on women in a cruel online dating scam may have duped more than 50 victims, police have revealed.

Sidney Ochouba, 40, and Busayo Oladapo, 38, created fake accounts to lure targets from the British Isles.

A police operation traced ­dozens of victims, with seven coming forward as witnesses in a case that ended with Ochouba and Oladapo being convicted last week.

A senior officer has said police uncovered a string of suspicious bank transactions that suggested more than 50 victims may have sent money totalling £170,000 to the pair.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Robertson, of Police Scotland’s economic crime unit, said: “We were contacted by an initial victim in 2016 and our inquiries thereafter focused on a six-month period two years beforehand.

“We found over 50 transactions going in and out of bank accounts which suggested that number of people were potentially involved in sending money. We were able to identify 36 individuals and eventually had seven people coming forward as witnesses. Others, for their own reasons, did not wish to come forward.”

Scottish detectives had ­jurisdiction as the accused were based in Glasgow – Ochouba lived in a Gorbals flat while Oladapo stayed in Govan.

One victim who gave evidence lives in Scotland while the others are from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Police said they would use Proceeds of Crime laws to claw back money from the conmen. The pair are due to be sentenced next month.

DCI Robertson said: “We saw, in a six-month snapshot, a sum of £170,000 in suspicious transactions although the sum eventually taken to court was £39,000. We will, of course, look to any opportunities possible to recover assets that we can identify.”

Ochouba, 40, and Busayo Oladapo, 38, created fake online accounts to deceive seven victims between 2014 and 2015.

The two men posed as nutritionists working in Syria for the World Health Organisation who had become stranded with no money. They were found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court last week of operating the fraud.

A source said: “ People need to be aware that vile con artists like these two operate on the internet – and never send money to someone you meet online.”

We told last week how such frauds are growing with dating website fraud stinging Scots for an estimated £4m last year.