A fraudster who posed as a doctor and a barrister to con thousands of pounds from women he met through online dating sites has been jailed.
Amir Tofangsazan, 27 (20.10.1987) of Norfolk Road, Barnet was sentenced on Thursday, 28 May to seven years and nine months in jail for 15 counts of fraud. He was found guilty on Wednesday, 27 May following a five week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Tofangsazan was also found guilty of three other separate offences including theft, perverting the course of justice and possessing articles concerned in fraud.
The court heard that between May 2012 and July 2014, Tofangsazan created a number of profiles on online dating sites using different aliases as well as adopting several personalities including those of a doctor and a barrister.
Once a victim had made contact, Tofangsazan would gain their trust and after a few weeks was able to convince them that they were in a secure relationship.
Having trapped his victims with his lies, Tofangsazan would start to ask them to loan him money which he would promise to pay back. Sometimes Tofangsazan would take money from his victims by promising them airline or sought after event tickets at discounted prices which he said he was able to get because of his career.
When the tickets failed to arrive, or the loans weren’t repaid, Tofangsazan would make up excuses or accuse his victims of lying and end the relationship. Some of his victims also had their bank cards photographed without their knowledge. The details of the card were later used to pay for dates or fund his lifestyle.
On one occasion, having stolen £300 from a victim, he then accused her of stealing from him. This resulted in her being interviewed by police, however, following police investigation; Tofangsazan was arrested and charged with theft and perverting the course of justice.
Another one of his victims was so convinced that the relationship was long term, that Tofangsazan was able to defraud nearly £15,000 from her. He would use a number of excuses to take money from her, and the victim, being trusting in nature, felt sorry for him and departed with the money unaware that they were all lies.
Tofangsazan was eventually caught out by the victim after she found a note in his pocket with his real name. After searching him online, she found out he was involved in a number of other frauds and contacted police.
During the investigation Tofangsazan continued to maintain his innocence and was arrested numerous times as further victims were identified. He also continued to carry out his scams whilst on bail.
Detective Sergeant Richard Jones from Hammersmith and Fulham CID said: “Tofangsazan’s sole intention was to exploit women by creating a web of lies purely for financial gain or to fulfill his sexual fantasies.
“All his victims were deceived into thinking that they were talking to a man who was genuinely looking for love but ended up being used.
“I hope this sentence sends out a clear message to people who think they can hide behind fake profiles and carry out these scams that they will be caught and dealt with by the courts.
“I would like to thank all the victims involved for their courage in assisting police with the investigations and going through the distressing experience of giving evidence about a very personal subject.”
Following the trial, one of Tofangsazan’s victims said: “This man used false identities to prey on professional women he met through online dating websites. During the five week trial, he showed very little remorse for his actions attributing his behaviour to a troubled childhood and the breakdown of his marriage.
“Even though he is now behind bars, it will still be a difficult journey to overcome the emotional pain he has caused me. I have been scared to the point that I find it difficult to trust others but more importantly trust my judgement about others.”