‘Lonely’ pensioner duped into laundering almost £100,000

No matter how 'innocent' you may be, the consequences of acting as a scammer's money mule can be dire.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3260549/A-Lonely-pensioner-fell-love-meeting-man-smooch-com-duped-laundering-100-000.html

5 October 2015

‘Lonely’ pensioner who ‘fell in love’ after meeting a man on smooch.com was then duped into laundering almost £100,000

Michele Ross, 69, met the man, who gave his name as Albert Harrison, on dating site smooch.com and she began helping him with what she thought were 'legitimate business transactions'.

Detectives feared the cash flowing through her bank account came from victims of scams and could have gone on to fund drug and human trafficking, the illicit arms trade and terrorism abroad.

Police warned Ross, who the judge called 'naive' for getting involved, on April 2 last year she was actually being used as a 'money mule' after the man preyed on her. But Portsmouth Crown Court heard she carried on laundering the cash in the hope the man she fell in love with would be with her.

She was given a suspended jail sentence - and has handed over all her assets to police and now lives in a council house.

The court heard Ross transferred £91,328 out of her Nationwide account after she was given the warning.

But outside court Detective Constable Nick Wright said the figure that flowed through her account in total was possibly more than £200,000.

Det Con Wright, who works in Hampshire Constabulary's economic crime unit, said: 'It will potentially come from other victims. 'It then goes abroad and that will be funding drug trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and arms.