Search for individuals on courting apps who supply funding alternatives which might be too good to be true.
That is the message from the New York prosecutor’s workplace, which just lately filed prices in opposition to a mendacity Lothario who they are saying cheated his lovers out of thousands and thousands.
Nelson Counne, who additionally goes by the names ‘Nelson Roth’ or ‘Justin Roth’, has been charged in a Manhattan courtroom with defrauding 5 girls of greater than $1.8 million by way of a collection of scams love and funding.
“He allegedly fed lie after mislead the ladies he falsely claimed to have a romantic curiosity in, luring them with funding alternatives that by no means existed whereas utilizing their funds to repay former victims, lure new ones and fund his way of life,” the district lawyer stated. Alvin L. Bragg, Jr.
Associated: The Con Man Who Robbed the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC Blind. “A number of the guys could not afford their automobile.”
Courting for {dollars}
Counne, 69, met most of his victims by way of on-line courting websites, the place he posed as a rich retired artwork supplier and investor with houses in London, Manhattan and the southern France, in line with the indictment.
In actuality, Counne owns no dwelling and by no means travels overseas – he does not actually have a passport. His solely supply of earnings was the cash he stole from his lovers between 2012 and 2021.
The rip-off labored like this: after successful the love and belief of his victims, Counne satisfied a lot of them to take a position with him. He by no means shared any particulars of his enterprise dealings, saying the investments have been in a “gray space between authorized and unlawful” and that he had entry to inside info.
A few of his bogus investments included Alibaba and a start-up allegedly run by a former Google govt, which allegedly supplied a web based lottery that potential college students may pay to enter for an opportunity to win tuition cowl.
“A lot of the victims have been initially hesitant, however Counne continued till every agreed to take a position,” in line with a press launch from the Manhattan District Lawyer’s Workplace.
A Ponzi scheme
The DA alleges Counne ran a traditional Ponzi scheme, utilizing cash from certainly one of his manufacturers to pay for an additional. This allowed him to look wealthy to new victims and repay earlier suspected victims of his fraud.
Coenne now faces prices of scheme to defraud within the first diploma, grand larceny within the second diploma and grand larceny within the third diploma.
Romance scams like this should not unusual. In 2021, some 24,000 victims reported shedding round $1 billion to romance scams, in line with the FBI.
