Elderly Loses HK$6mn To Romantic Investment Scammer

Police are looking for a man who allegedly scammed almost HK$6 million from a 70-year-old retiree after the 60-year-old who got in touch through a cold call for an investment plan and later went on to develop romantic ties with the victim.

Police said the alleged victim had first rejected offers of a low-interest loan from the suspect who called her in June last year.

They said he was persistent, and eventually cajoled her into investing in a construction project, promising her HK$20,000 in monthly returns from a HK$3 million investment.

The woman is said to have borrowed HK$1.5 million to make the payment.

After handing her HK$120,000 of supposed profit in September, police said they became romantically involved, and he even proposed.

Over the next three months, he got her to hand over even more money for a variety of reasons – for their wedding, and for legal expenses.

In all, police said, the woman was swindled out of HK$5.9 million, even selling off some of her assets to give him the cash.

They said he had never taken a picture with the woman, and all their transactions were done in cash.

Officers said the man disappeared in March and the woman eventually called the authorities on Thursday.

Police have arrested a suspected accomplice who had rented out an office space in Kwun Tong that the prime suspect had taken the alleged victim to.