Love scam nightmare: British grandmother killed chasing £1m lost to dating fraudsters

A British grandmother died in a tragic crash in Ghana after attempting to recover £1 million she lost to fraudsters on dating apps, an inquest heard.

Janet Fordham, 69, sustained fatal injuries in a crash in February 2023 after traveling to the African nation the previous year.

The widow had fallen victim to several online scams over a five year period – losing an estimated £1million, Devon Coroner’s Court heard.

Having lost her job and her life savings Janet had been living in a caravan on her son, Martin, and daughter-in-law‘s property when she travelled to Ghana.

The gran began using dating apps in 2017 and met a man claiming to be a British Army Sergeant major working in Syria.

The fraudster asked for her help bringing gold bars back into the UK, the inquest was told.

Janet’s daughter-in-law told the court: “He was retiring soon to return to the UK.

“She said they were in love and they were going to buy a house together.

“Janet mentioned nothing about any money at that point, but I remember candidly saying to her that it all seemed a little unbelievable, and the next thing he would be asking for money.

“I told her categorically not to send him any. Janet had been sending money to him, but we didn’t find out about this until years later. I believe she gave him around £150,000.”

Daughter-in-law Melanie said she later found out Janet had also been defrauded by a “diplomat” after her UK bank accounts were frozen.

Melanie added: “I think she realised that she had been scammed, but initially struggled to accept it.

“We’re not clear how Janet transitioned from one fraud to the next.

“We became aware that she transferred money by several means, including bank transfers, wire transfers at the Post Office, and potentially a travel agent.

“The banks, post office etc stopped her from using their services, transferring money, because they recognised that it was fraud.”

The inquest into Janet’s death heard another man, identifying himself as Kofi, contacted Janet to say he was a doctor in Ghana working part-time in a pal’s phone repair shop.

According to Melanie: “He was working on a phone that saw messages to and from Janet on there. He believed Janet had been scammed.

“He felt compelled to help her get her money back. So, he took her phone number and made contact.”

Police spoke with Janet about Kofi but officers could not further investigate due to her lack of engagement.

The court heard Melanie contacted police again because her mother-in-law was continuing to transfer money abroad using bitcoin and ATMs.

She also borrowed money from other family members, which totalled around £140,000, and was also in arrears on loans and credit cards as she continued to send money overseas.

Melanie said: “Whether she was in so deep, she couldn’t accept it was all gone, she had to keep piling money in the hope of getting something back.

“Whether she genuinely believed what she was being told, we will never know.

“Janet wouldn’t tell us much, so we started opening some of her mail and discovered that she had cashed in a chunk of her pension.

“She was withdrawing the maximum £500 a day, we believe to stockpile, and then transferred cash as the banks had stopped her doing electronic transfers.

“I was very aware that we don’t know everything and there is probably a whole lot more.”

In October 2022 Janet flew to Ghana to meet Kofi who she had become romantically engaged with.

Melanie said: “As a family, we tried everything to stop her, but she was adamant

“I spoke to her doctor, sought legal advice, but because she was of sound mind, albeit brainwashed, she was deemed to have capacity and there was nothing we could do.”

Devon and Cornwall Police, said officers had contact with Melanie about allegations of fraud in 2017, 2020 and 2022.

Detective Sergeant Ben Smith said: “It shows Janet Fordham as a sustained victim of fraud throughout that period.

“It’s believed that Janet has sent a considerable amount of money, estimated at between £800,000 and £1 million over that period.

“As a result, she had used all her savings, sold her home and land, and was living in a caravan with Martin and Melanie in their garden.

“Police throughout these investigations have endeavoured to do everything they can to persuade Janet not to have any contact with the criminals and not to hand over money.

“There was no issue with capacity and that she was making these decisions of her own free will.”

It was heard that Janet and Kofi had been driving from the Accra region to the Oti region in Ghana, with Kofi behind the wheel when the motor left the road.

The pair had reportedly been on their way to “get approval from a family member for marriage” when the fatal smash occurred.

Tragically, Janet did not survive the horror crash and passed away.

Kofi later pleaded guilty to driving offences and received a suspended prison sentence and fine, the court heard.

Det Sgt Smith confirmed there was no evidence of any third-party involvement in Janet’s death.

The National Crime Agency was involved in the Ghana investigation but it was treated as a road traffic incident rather than a murder inquiry.

The inquest, led by senior Devon coroner Philip Spinney, continues.