38-year-old Nigerian man, lover arrested over romance scam in Philippines

A 37-year-old Nigerian man,  Ikenna Onuoha, and his lover, Jacel Ann Paderan, 28, have been arrested in Philippines in connection with an internet love scam.

The Philippine National Police-Anti Cybercrime Group disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, November 3.

Leader of  district anti cybercrime team,  Michael Bernardo, said the suspects were arrested in an operation by his team and the Quezon City District Special Operation Unit personnel in Molino, Bacoor City, Cavite, on November 1, 2022.
The police said the Nigerian and Paderan were lovers but that the victim, whose name was withheld by the authorities, was also the Nigerian suspect’s lover.
Police said the Nigerian man and the victim met on an online dating app and had been in a relationship since April 2020.
The suspect then introduced himself as a Turkish national named “Demir Balik”.
In the course of their virtual relationship, the victim said the suspect made a lot of promises which she believed.
The suspect managed to convince the victim to send him money, totalling PHP2,282,000.
Police said the money was sent to the bank accounts of Paderan and a certain Cristine Mae Elizares.
The victim said Onuoha told her that he has a dormant account in a bank in the United Kingdom and that he needed money to settle it.
“When the suspect asked for more money from the victim, it was then that she realized that she was being conned and decided to report the incident to our office,” Bernardo said.
The third suspect, Elizares, remains at large.
The suspects are facing charges of swindling/estafa and abuse of the use of information and communications technology under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.