There have been some insane catfishing (luring someone into relationship via fictional online persona) scandals before, but never as wild as this scheme! A man posing as Bruno Mars allegedly conned a Texas woman of $100,000 after believing she was in a romantic relationship with the pop star.
The man apparently connived with two Nigerians – Chiwendu Azuonwo and Basil Amadi to perpetuate the crime as the money was traced to their accounts.
The catfisher reportedly told the Texas lady that he needed the money to pay for “tour expenses” and that she should send the money to the account of a “friend of the band.”
The 63-year-old victim reportedly told police in Houston that she launched a love affair with the person she thought to be the 24K Magic singer after he connected with her on Instagram in 2018.
At the time, the lady told investigators that the fake Bruno even promised to leave his scheduled shows for her once it was sent. Legal documents showed that the cheques, which she wrote two days apart, were made out to “Chi Autos”.
However, the unidentified lady reportedly told cops that she “fell in love” with the performer imposter and was convinced he was the real singer because he sent her some snapshots on tour.
After the “couple” formed an online relationship, the con artist started to ask for cash, and tricked the victim into sending two cheques – one for $10,000 and another for $90,000.
One of the two recipients of the fraudulent transactions; Chinwendu Azuonwu, has been charged with third-degree felony money laundering this week after the $90K was found in his bank account, while his accomplice, Basil Amadi, was also charged with money laundering.