Romance-Driven Investment Scam
The victim joined a trading blog on social media, where he met two individuals—“Mr. Charlie” and “Tina”—claiming to represent Fitbela Epro Limited, a UK-based Forex trading firm. They persuaded him to open a Forex trading account on the Meta 5 Trading platform and promised high returns. The victim initially invested $10,000 and was told the account had grown significantly, prompting him to invest even more. Following their direction, he eventually sent a total of $92,000 via wire transfer. Later, they claimed his account was now worth $200,000. When the victim attempted to withdraw his funds, he was told he needed to pay $87,000 in taxes before any money could be released. At that point, he recognized it as a scam.
The scammer used a dating app to build trust, then created the illusion of success with simulated trades. Once the victim believed he could earn real profits, she transitioned him to a fake trading site. After a large deposit, the platform showed inflated profits to keep him engaged. When he attempted to withdraw, they blocked access by demanding additional payments under the guise of taxes.
$120,000+
The victim was unable to recover any funds. All deposits were lost after the platform blocked withdrawals with fake tax requirements.