When 61-year-old Jan Marshall signed up to an
online dating website called Plenty of Fish, she put
up her personal details and where she works, and
quickly she was matched to a 'British' man — Eamon
Donegal Dubhlainn — who claimed he worked as an
Engineer in the United States
In a few months, after consistent communication
through email, phone and instant messenger (though
they never had any video chat), she fell in love with
him. He proposed marriage and she accepted.
And then she began sending him money through his
bank account after he claimed he was trapped in
Dubai and couldn't pay his taxes. he said he would
pay her back, but he never did. Next he was asking
for more to buy materials, all of which she sent
through Western Union. Though the platform had a
limit of $10,000 per transaction, she sent in
multiples of ten, like when she sent him $40,000.
.
Once he had claimed he was on his way to the
airport, to travel and see her, but he had a car
accident. She received forged emails and bills from
doctors and nurses who claimed they were treating
him, and she paid all the bills. She would later
realise the scam after she had sent him about $
350,000.
Through investigations, Australian authorities found
out that Eamon Donegal Dubhlainn does not exist,
that the picture was stolen off the internet, and that
the $350,000 actually was transferred to Nigeria. The
fraud was traced to a 419 ring in Nigeria.
For Jan, who still owes Australian government about
$76,000 in taxes incurred from all the funds she sent
to the scammer, she is heartbroken.
"It has left me in a lot of strife," she told Daily Mail.
"I gave him money from my pay, I had to borrow
money to get through that first month, I closed down
a lot of discretionary spending and I am still in strife
in credit card and tax office debt."
Photo used by the fraudster
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