Widow Loses Life Savings, Dies in Romance Scam

0:00On April 22nd, a 69-year-old British widow named Janet Fordham lost her entire 1 million pound life savings to romance scammers over five years then died in a car crash in Ghana. She'd sold her home and was living in a caravan on her son's property in Devon when she flew there in October 2022 to meet a man she'd die connected with online. The scam started back in 2017 on dating sites with a fake British army sergeant promising gold bars and a future together. She got hit by more cons, including a phony diplomat, sending cash through banks, post offices, even bitcoin and ATMs after services cut her off. Family spotted her cashing pensions and maxing withdrawals. Her son Martin and daughter-in-law Melanie begged her not to go, talk to doctors and lawyers, but she was deemed mentally sound despite the brainwashing. She borrowed around 140,000 pounds from relatives and racked up debts, still chasing her money back.

1:01On February 14th, 2023, the man she went to see, Kofi, was driving them from Acra toward the OT region for marriage approval. When the car veered off and crashed, she suffered a fatal head injury, he pled guilty to driving offenses, got a suspended sentence and fine. The inquest ruled it. A road traffic collision with no foul play, highlighting how police tried intervening, but she wouldn't fully cooperate. It's a stark reminder of romance fraud's grip-stay vigilant out there.