Romance fraudster conned victims out of thousands and targeted dying woman
Osagie Aigbonohan, 40, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, used a number of aliases to contact women online through dating and social media sites.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A romance fraudster conned a victim out of thousands of pounds and targeted hundreds of others including a terminally ill woman, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Osagie Aigbonohan, 40, originally from Lagos Nigeria used a number of aliases to contact women online through dating and social media sites, and in one case cheated a woman out of nearly £10,000, the agency said.
Detectives said Aigbonohan operated under the name Tony Eden when he struck up a 10-month relationship with the victim last year via a dating site before persuading her to lend him money to buy machinery for his business overseas.
The NCA said the victim made nine transfers into accounts held under fake identities, with the money eventually making its way into a personal account held by Aigbonohan, which he used for everyday spending.
Data extracted from his phone showed he received money from at least eight other victims and had been in contact with over 670 people, the agency said.
The force disclosed one of the women targeted was terminally ill, with Aigbonohan continuing to pursue her even after she died.
When Officers arrested Aigbonohan in July 2021, he was found carrying a false driver’s license and had no legal right to be in the UK, having overstayed his visa from two years ago.
Records showed that despite living in Abbey Wood, London he’d spent victims’ money in locations across London, Manchester and Glasgow, the NCA said.
The agency also stated that when officers conducted a search of his home address, they found shoes bought with store vouchers that could be linked back to one of the victims.
The NCA said Aigbonohan appeared before Southwark Crown Court on Friday, where he pleaded guilty to charges relating to fraud and money laundering.
He will remain in custody until he is sentenced at the same court on January 14 2022.
Dominic Mugan, NCA operations manager, said: “Romance fraud is a particularly cruel crime that impacts victims both emotionally and financially, with victims often feeling like they’re the ones to blame.
“Aigbonohan showed total disregard for the victims in this case and was happy to commit further fraud by moving money between various fraudulently held accounts.
“It’s possible that he contacted more people than we know about. If you think you may have been a victim, or may be a victim in a similar case, we would urge you to report the details to Action Fraud.”