RMO Case Spotlight
Online Romance Fraud Halted
Background
Our client came to us concerned about his sister, citing her high-risk behavior and that she seemed unable to resist fraud and undue influence. His sister had been targeted in a romance scheme through an online dating website. The romance slowly turned profitable for the fraudsters, who manipulated the victim over several years, originally securing trivial “gifts” like phones under the guise of needing them for secret, special military-like operations, before slowly asking for money via gift cards, wires and bank transfers.
Over time, the fraud changed, with the scammers eventually convincing the victim that they needed even more capital to help them secure as much as $40 million from a purported gold and diamond mine, which they offered to share with the victim. The fraudsters were so unrelenting that they convinced the victim to not only spend significant sums of money but to travel alone internationally, including traveling to war-ravaged parts of Africa where kidnappings are rampant, to verify the booty. Meanwhile, our client’s sister grew isolated from her family and friends due to threats from the fraudsters that the information could not be revealed for her own safety.
Solution
RMO acted swiftly to obtain an emergency, temporary conservatorship over the victim’s objections by helping the judge understand the scammers’ tricks constituted undue influence on the victim and that intervention through conservatorship was the best and safest way to protect her.
Results
RMO LLP was successful in establishing an emergency conservatorship of the estate on behalf of our client over his sister who had been ensnared by the Nigerian fraudsters, who had infiltrated, isolated, defrauded and unduly influenced her into sending them millions, leaving her destitute and unable to buy food.
Snapshot
Client’s Capacity:
- Proposed Conservator
Amount In Dispute: $1.2M
Client’s Goals: Client sought to protect sister from future harm and continued financial abuse.
Legal Issues:
- Financial Elder Abuse
- Emergency Conservatorship
- Undue Influence
Resolution:
- Secured emergency temporary conservatorship over victimized sister.
- Protected her from high-risk activities.
Please note that every legal case is unique, and the outcomes of past cases do not guarantee similar results in your situation. The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. To fully understand your specific legal needs and options, we strongly recommend consulting with a qualified attorney. An attorney can provide personalized guidance based on the unique facts and circumstances of your case.
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