Woman's warning after late ex-husband fell victim to $400,000 romance scam
The ex-wife of a deceased man who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on romance scammers, only to be used as a mule in criminal dealings, has spoken out to alert others of the dangers of internet dating.
When Belinda and Graham separated after 32 years of marriage, they remained friends.
Health issues kept Graham at home, so he turned to dating apps for company.
READ MORE: Driver sets up public protest after claiming she was sold a 'lemon'
Belinda Guy is sharing her ex-husband's story to act as a warning for others. A Current Affair
"He was fit in the beginning, but as the progression of the cirrhosis, he just lost everything and he was very depressed after he got made redundant," Belinda said.
Graham withdrew from the outside world, finding comfort talking to two women he thought were promising him love.
They sent photos and regular messages, but it was all fake.
Belinda believes the women started asking for money in 2018.
"He could barely stand up. And he'd hire an Uber and go to all these different banks and gift card shops," Belinda Guy said.
Bank statements from the time show Graham was making multiple payments over a two-month period.
Shockingly at the bottom of the statement, a note from the bank read "client has met ladies online and is sending them money for various reasons".
But it was just the tip of the iceberg.
When Graham passed away in June last year, Belinda was left to clean out his home.
She uncovered bank statements and receipts into the thousands, along with tens of thousands of dollars worth of gift cards sent to his scammers.
READ MORE: Petting zoo cafe owner facing disturbing new allegations
Graham died last year, with his ex-wife having to clean out his home. A Current Affair
"The 500 dollar [vouchers] are the big ones, I think he had about 50, 53 $500 ones," Belinda said.
"I was cranky because he was a very clever man.
"It's heartbreaking to know that someone who was a very clever man,so clever he was, was duped."
When Graham ran out of money he even got a reverse mortgage for $150,000 so he could continue to pay the scammers, all in the name of love.
Another bank statement shows Graham had more than $100,000 in his account in January last year.
By May, the account was empty.
Graham lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scams. A Current Affair
"I haven't added [the payments] up but I'm just assuming it's close to or over $400,000," Belinda said.
"He was paying them before he bought any food."
Belinda got in contact with Kylee Dennis, a former police officer who now investigates romance scams.
She uncovered Graham was also being used as a mule.
The scammers were sending items to his home, which he'd then ship overseas for them.
"Though he was willingly giving this money, he did not believe that he was involved in a criminal element. He was a victim of a fraud," Dennis said.
"He was repackaging parcels to Malaysia, there was a parcel he repackaged down the south coast, New South Wales, there were people who wanted him to repackage parcels to Brazil."
Belinda now hopes others can learn from Graham's story and save their loved ones from the same heartache.
"I'm sure he was led to believe that the more money you put into them that he was going to reap the rewards," she said.
"It's pretty raw. Like I am only doing this because... I don't want other families to go through this."
We’d love to hear from you
