The 59-year-old woman is suspected of pretending to be rich to gain the trust of victims, whom she met on online applications.
A woman accused of posing as an architect to attract men through dating apps and allegedly defrauding them of tens of thousands of euros will face legal action for two crimes of qualified fraud.
According to the report, the suspect was arrested in February by the Judicial Police of Braga and is in preventive detention. The accused still faces another similar case in Vila Nova de Gaia.
According to the accusation of the Viana do Castelo Public Ministry, the woman used online dating platforms to approach older men, quickly establishing relationships of trust that ended up resulting in significant financial losses for the victims.
One of the cases involves Manuel, 74 years old, who met the suspect through the Badoo app. The woman, who introduced herself as an architect and said she lived in Porto, arranged a meeting a few days after the first contact. The relationship evolved quickly and, just over a month later, the two were already sharing a house in Ponte de Lima.
According to the victim’s report, the companion convinced him to hand over 150 thousand euros for the joint acquisition of a house in Lisbon. The money was withdrawn from the bank and given directly to the woman, who disappeared shortly afterwards. Manuel claims he never recovered the amount or contacted the alleged embezzler again.
Another retiree, João, aged 73, met the same woman through the Felizes app. The suspect moved to her residence in Ponte da Barca after a few weeks of relationship. During this period, he offered him high-value clothes, perfumes and watches, creating an image of financial stability. About two months later, she is accused of disappearing with R$50,000 belonging to the victim.
Authorities believe that the woman used different identities, presenting herself as “Helena”, “Lina” or “Ana Carolina”. According to the victims, the profiles used in the applications did not contain photographs and were deleted shortly after the alleged schemes came to fruition.
The investigation also revealed that, on the day she abandoned the victims, the suspect deleted their digital profiles and deactivate cell phones usedmaking it difficult to locate. None of the injured parties knew the woman’s real address.
There is also reference to a third alleged victim, resident of the Lisbon region, who reportedly withdrew the complaint to avoid family problems. The trial is expected to take place in the coming months at the Viana do Castelo Court.
