A love scam in which three men were swindled out of nearly $500,000 and a trio faced a series of cheating allegations likely has other scam victims who have not spoken out, police say.
Two Benowa women, aged 52 and 29, and a 52-year-old man from Mermaid Beach have been charged by Queensland Police with offenses including fraud, receiving tainted property, possessing tainted property and violating an arrangement for accessing electronically stored information.
It is alleged that the trio cheated on three men between June 2022 and February this year.
Two men in their 70s became involved in a paid dating service after responding to a personal advertisement in a newspaper making payments to a woman in her 50s who claimed to be a widow.
Police allege the woman claimed she needed large payments to get out of an employment contract.
“There will likely be other victims and complainants, not just locally but across the country,” Inspector Jason Chetham told reporters Thursday.
“We are asking anyone with information about these crimes, whether they are witnesses or complainants, to come forward.”
“We’d love to hear her story. We’re not going to judge her at all.’
An advertisement in a newspaper that the police say is related to the investigation
Police allege three men were scammed out of nearly half a million dollars
The two Benowa women were each accused of five cases of fraud.
One of the men lost about $42,000 before raising concerns about possible fraud to a friend.
His case was referred to the police in February.
A second Cassowary Coast man lost a total of $343,500 before reporting the scam to police in March.
In July, police raided two addresses in Benowa on the Gold Coast and one address on Mermaid Beach, where they recovered $79,200 worth of cash stuffed into pillows.
Investigations at the properties led police to find evidence that a third man had been duped in the same scam. A man in his 50s from Western Australia is said to have been scammed out of more than $111,000.
The 52-year-old faces additional charges for receiving and possessing damaged property and violating an order to access electronically stored information.
Two women will appear in court next month
Both are expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on October 3.
The 52-year-old Mermaid Beach man has been charged with four counts of fraud and is expected to appear in the same court on September 18.
Inspector Chetham said embarrassment can be a barrier for people to come forward, but police deal with these incidents with an open mind.
“We can also offer them support if they are victims of a crime,” he said.
“If you find yourself in a situation where you have to pay money to be introduced to people, that’s an instant red flag.”
