In a heartbreaking conclusion to a series of fraudulent schemes, 69-year-old Janet Fordham tragically lost her life in a car accident in Ghana while attempting to recover a fortune defrauded from her over a five-year period. An inquest in Exeter revealed the extensive emotional and financial toll of these scams, which left Fordham bereft of her life savings and home.
A Victim of Romance Scams
The inquest detailed how Fordham was lured into a web of deceit beginning in 2017, when she started using online dating platforms. Melanie Fordham, her daughter-in-law, recounted how Janet became enamoured with a man portraying himself as a British Army sergeant major stationed in Syria. This individual convinced her that he needed financial assistance to transport gold bars back to the UK.
Despite Melanie’s warnings regarding the implausibility of the man’s story, Janet reportedly sent around £150,000 to him. The fraud did not stop there; she later fell victim to another scammer posing as a diplomat. “I think she realised that she had been scammed, but initially struggled to accept it,” Melanie explained. “We’re not clear how Janet transitioned from one fraud to the next.”
Desperate Measures and Fatal Consequences
Over the years, Fordham sent between £800,000 and £1 million to various fraudsters, leading her to sell her home and ultimately live in a caravan in Devon. Despite attempts by her family and the Devon and Cornwall police to intervene, she was deemed mentally capable of making her own decisions, which left her free to continue engaging with the scammers.
In October
