NJ couple used Match.com, eHarmony to scam people out of $6M

A  New Jersey pair is accused of working with international accomplices to bilk 33 people out of more than $6 million using online dating sites and social media, officials announced.

Married couple Martins Friday Inalegwu, 31, and Steincy Mathieu, 24, allegedly met people through Internet dating forums, such as Match.com, eHarmony and Plenty of Fish, as well as through bogus ads that purported them to be buying and selling homes, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

The pair allegedly tricked the 33 victims into sending them a total of $3.1 million and sending $2.9 million more to their international co-conspirators in Turkey and Nigeria. And court records indicate there are likely more victims.

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“Based on a review of bank records, additional victims with an additional $1.2 million in payments to subjects have been identified but not yet interviewed and confirmed,” the criminal complaint states.

Court papers made public through the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey show Inalegwu, Mathieu and the co-conspirators began duping people as early as October 2016 when they encountered their first victim, who ultimately made them millions.

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One of their co-conspirators, who was not named in court papers, met the woman in September 2016 under a fake identity, “George Marek,” a newly widowed man who had recently moved to Austin, Texas from Kentucky.

“‘Marek’ told VICTIM 1 he bought and sold jewels for a living and that recent client business had taken him to South Africa,” court papers state. “After approximately six weeks of daily contact, and the building of a purported romantic relationship, ‘Marek’ asked [the victim] for approximately $2,000 to be used for his expenses in South Africa.”

“Marek” asked the woman, who was not identified, to help him pay for things like insurance payments and “family support,” wire transfer records obtained by the federal government show. After running out of money, the victim turned to crime, according to the complaint.

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“In or about March 2017, after exhausting her savings, liquidating her retirement account, borrowing from friends and family, taking out a personal loan, and maxing out her credit cards, VICTIM 1, employed as the financial director, began embezzling money from her employer.”

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Through her unknowing employer, identified in court papers as “VICTIM 2,” the first victim directed $4 million through 29 checks to Inalegwu, Mathieu and their various co-conspirators, at one time paying as much as $100,000, court papers show.

Inalegwu and Mathieu, from Maple Shade, New Jersey, were charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

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