WATCH ABOVE: York Regional Police warning of increased dangers of online dating fraud
Nine people are facing more than 40 charges in connection with romance scams in the GTA, where seven victims allegedly lost more than $1.5 million.
York Regional Police said the investigation began in July 2014, after a woman alleged she was a victim of fraud.
Investigators determined that a group of people from the Toronto area had been operating an organized crime network targeting women on dating websites.
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Police said the suspects would create false dating profiles and go to great lengths in order to make their fake identities believable.
The suspects would then allegedly use a number of tactics to build trust with the victims and establish a relationship with them online.
Police said in a release that these relationships would typically progress “very quickly to an emotional point where the victim is so invested in the relationship that they feel compelled to help when the suspect begins to ask for money.”
READ MORE: Online romance scams bilk Canadians out of nearly $14M in 2014
Police identified six more victims who had similar experiences and lost undisclosed amounts of money, in addition to a “very large” number of women who the suspects had attempted to get money from but were unsuccessful.
Police say the suspects were using two fake names, Benjamin D. Baker and Ryan Hull, on a variety of different dating websites.
The investigation is ongoing.
Akinola Adebayo, 41, George Dokwugbo, 42, Raford Ettienne, 40, Curtis Laing, 53, Juliana Nabutuwa, 24, Obi Okolichi, 44, Daphne Jalloh, 34, and Ibrahim Bangura, 53, of Toronto and Richard Charite, 57, of Mississauga face more than 40 charges including conspiracy, fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime.
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