A 69-year-old man has revealed how he lost £85,000 from his life savings after becoming involved in an online relationship with a woman he believed was his girlfriend.
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Rodrick Lodge said he was left financially devastated after what he believed was a genuine relationship with a Kenyan woman eventually turned out to be a scam.
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Rodrick first met his Kenyan girlfriend, “Mary,” while working in Nairobi in 2020, following the death of his wife of 25 years, Pauline.
He said: “I’ve known her since 2020 and I thought she was a friend.
“I even helped her out with a bit of money over the years, paid for car repairs, things like that. Looking back I now realise it was so bizarre. Last summer Mary told me she had a friend, Anita, who lived in Karen, a suburb of Nairobi. She put me in touch with her.
“We started exchanging messages on Viber. She told me she was MD of a beauty company and had 30 employees. She sounded successful, she said she was having a house built in Voi, about 200 miles from Nairobi.”
As their communication continued, Rodrick said the woman told him she was building a house and sent him numerous photographs, including intimate images which he said he no longer has.
Although they initially remained friends, Rodrick eventually developed feelings for her and the relationship progressed. He said he later decided that he wanted to marry her.
Rodrick claimed that he paid a dowry and also agreed to cover expenses for a house he believed she was building.
However, despite the length of their relationship, Rodrick said they never met in person. He also claimed they never spoke over the phone, adding that whenever he tried to arrange a meeting, she would give him different excuses.
“She was sending pictures of solar panels and water pumps. I thought it was going well. Then, in November, she told me she had to go to Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo to market her products. She said there were cash flow problems and the business didn’t have enough money. So I paid for that too. She’d send pictures of her and her friends in Kigali [capital of Rwanda], it looked like she was doing well.”
Rodrick said he continued sending money despite the repeated excuses and delays, only becoming suspicious after another request for financial assistance.
“She was always putting things off, making excuses. I realise now I was such a fool. I should have stopped it there and then. In May she said her dad was in a particular hospital and she needed help with the bills. But when we checked, there was no one with his name there. That finished it.”
After making inquiries about the hospital, Rodrick said he began to believe that the person he had been communicating with may not have been who he thought she was.
“I doubt that Anita even exists. I’ve no idea who I’ve been communicating with. I’m in such a mess. My bank accounts have been frozen because I’ve gone overdrawn, I can’t get access to my pensions and I’ve got nowhere to live. I’ve been a giving person all my life and I aimed to retire to Kenya and marry Anita.
“I’ve been so stupid. She never existed. It was a creation. I’m totally lost. I have zero cash and am relying on a couple of friends. I’m going to be a poor man for a long time. It was all a scam, I realise that now. I have no family, no kids that can help me. It’s over for me.”
Rodrick said the experience has left him without access to his savings and pensions and with nowhere to live, leaving him dependent on friends as he tries to recover from the financial loss
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