[EN IMAGES] Love fraud and African mafia: a retiree squandered his savings in a few months

A retiree from the South Shore of Montreal lost his life savings after being the victim of romance fraud, to the point where he had to start working again to afford a hotel room.

The complainant “who had a house, assets, now lives in a municipal housing office,” summarized Crown prosecutor Julien Beauchamp-Laliberté, at the Trois-Rivières courthouse. He had to find a job in a convenience store to be able to support himself.”

This week, on the sidelines of the investigation into the release of Aboubacar Sidiki Diallo, the public prosecutor was able to paint a portrait of the evidence against the 27-year-old young man, originally from Ivory Coast.

With the participation of other suspects, Diallo, involved in the African mafia according to the Border Services Agency (CBSA), would have completely destroyed the life of a 67-year-old man.

He was allegedly robbed of more than $280,000 between May and August 2023.

The sixty-year-old was in the process of separating, when he added “Philine Degagne” on Facebook, in April 2023, a woman with blond hair.

“She looks good in photos. At first, she was difficult to approach,” the victim, whose identity is protected by the court, later told the police.

Wedding in sight

The lovebirds had several conversations on the Messenger app. Falling madly in love, they even spoke to each other in person.

In June, the alleged “Philine” was to go to Martinique to see her sick mother and take care of the sale of land she owned with her father. A false bill of sale was allegedly produced.

Notary fees, medical bills and fund transfer problems were cited to ask the sixty-year-old for money. Several dozen transfers were made.

The woman promised that “860,000 euros would be available to them and that they would live together in an apartment in Trois-Rivières to start their lives and hope to get married the following summer,” reports the Crown.

The complainant, having sold his residence in Sainte-Catherine, in Montérégie, went to the apartment in question.

“Obviously there are other people staying there. [Le plaignant]in the summer of 2023, no longer has a penny, must actually stay in a motel room, for which he will have to work to pay for his room,” underlined Mr.^e Beauchamp-Laliberté.

He was convinced

The retiree filed a complaint with the police, after which he still “sent money to the suspects because he believes in the story and the existence of Philine”, according to the investigation.

The police traced Aboubacar Sidiki Diallo to the IP address behind this fictitious friend’s Facebook. It led to the accused, who lived in Trois-Rivières and was now in Longueuil.

The alleged fraudster logged into this account 117 times during the alleged fraud.

Several luxury items totaling more than $50,000 were seized by police last October, such as a Rolex watch and clothing from Burberry and Louis Vuitton.

Even if he were released by the court, Diallo would remain detained, as he is the subject of a CBSA arrest warrant.

The ravages of the African mafia

• Aboubacar Sidiki Diallo is linked to the African mafia and other love frauds, according to a CBSA affidavit;
• Since the pandemic in 2020, “more than a hundred events of romance fraud by members of African organized crime have been reported to the CBSA Intelligence Section,” according to a 2022 report;
• No less than 72 suspects and 50 companies, which raked in millions of dollars, have been identified;
• 89% of fraudsters come from West Africa, such as Ivory Coast;
• Even though hundreds of victims have been identified, only 15% have filed complaints.