Oluwamayola
Ajayi, 31, has been jailed for 61/2 years for preying on four single women
using the popular website Match.com. He sent email threats, purportedly from a
captor, claiming he had been kidnapped and would be killed unless a ransom was
paid and his victims, who all live in the U.S and Canada, were 'completely
taken in' by his lies.
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Oluwamayola Ajayi, conned a series of single women out
of more than £120,000 using dating website match.com.
He is an acclaimed gospel singer who used a dating site
to steal more than £120,000 from lonely women by posing as a pilot, oil
executive and grieving widower. He preyed on four single women on the popular
dating website Match.com using a series of aliases and outlandish stories to
fleece them of their cash. He even sent email threats, purportedly from a
captor, claiming he had been kidnapped and would be killed if a ransom was not
paid.
Oluwamayola Ajayi,
was nominated for best international act at the 2011 Gospel Music Awards under
his stage name MaioJoe, is going to jail for conspiracy to defraud at
Snaresbrook Crown Court with Judge Sarah Paneth saying that it was clear he
intended to defraud his victims 'for much more money' than he did.
And of course, he spent all the money on a luxury
lifestyle, including a holiday to South Africa.
His victims were left humiliated and some were
financially ruined by the scam, which ran between November 2009 and August
2010.
One victim handed over more than $125,000 (now £78,662)
from her late husband’s life savings and dead mother’s estate, which she had
earmarked for retirement.
Another disabled woman from Nova Scotia was duped into
giving Ajayi almost $38,000 (£23,913) after he pretended to be Travis David
McFly, a United States Air force pilot serving in Iraq.
Prosecutor Markus Rickard said: ‘He told a story to her
about some gold bars he had found and that he wanted to get them out of Iraq so
they could secure their financial future.
‘This inevitably led to the woman having supply money
via an intermediary in London, to enable the gold bars to be taken from Iraq.
‘She was completely taken in by him and intended to
spend the rest of her life with him.
‘At one point, she arranged to meet him at an airport
and waited for five hours for him, but he did not turn up.
‘This has left her flat broke and deeply embarrassed.’
Ajayi pocketed around $30,000 (£18,873) from another
internet lover, leaving her in financial dire straits.
The singer also posed as a project manager in the oil
and gas industry to fleece $7,000 (£4,404) from his final victim, telling her
he needed the cash for expenses including a ‘Crude Oil Lifting Licence’.
He told all but one of the women that he was a white
widower with children from Britain called Mark West, who was currently living
in the US.
Ajayi funnelled his ill-gotten gains through false bank
accounts, mainly using the fictional identity of Jose Fernando
Rodrigues-Guedes.
Mr Rickard added: ‘The defendant systematically and
repeatedly misrepresented himself to lonely females using the internet and
cheated them out of £120,000 from November 2009 until August 2010.
‘The victims of his deceptions have been left
embarrassed and fearful and they have all suffered substantial financial loss
or ruin.’
Ajayi was arrested last August at the home he shares
with his wife in Chadwell Heath, Essex.
During interview in a prepared statement, he insisted
one of his victims was the girlfriend of a friend who owed him money.
He claimed he used an account in the name of
Rodrigues-Guedes as he did not have one in his own name.
The computer equipment on which police found scores of
emails with money transfers, credit card details, bank statements, personal
information and photographs belonged to the ‘real’ Rodrigues-Guedes, Ajayi
claimed.
But Rodrigues-Guedes has never been found, prompting
police to believe he is simply an identity dreamed up by Ajayi to carry out his
con.
Ajayi denied conspiracy to defraud, fraud, concealing
criminal property, using criminal property and two counts of possessing
articles for use in frauds.
He was unanimously convicted by a jury on all counts
after a trial after admitting a single count of possessing a false identity
document with intent.
A spokesman for match.com today urged users to follow
its safety guidelines when online dating.
He said: 'Sadly the tiny minority of people who try to
exploit others is not confined to dating sites or even the internet, it’s
across all walks of life.
'We urge our members to follow the safe dating guidance
we provide across our site and via email when meeting new people, whether
that’s online, through friends or in a bar.
'Most importantly requests for money or financial
assistance are not acceptable.
'You should never send money to anyone you meet online;
just as you would never give money to someone you recently met in a pub or
cafe.'
Gospel singer? lo ba tan!
Culled from Daily Mail Uk.
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