A Zimbabwean man who misrepresented to his former fiancée, her family and a friend that he was diagnosed with Cancer before walking away with nearly £40,000 has been jailed.
BBC reports that Wilfred Mpofu, 32, of Tenby Drive, Luton, misrepresented that he had stage four pancreatic cancer and needed the money for an operation at a private hospital in Switzerland.
This led Mpofu’s fiancée and friend to have fundraising pages set up for him.
He was jailed for two years and eight months at Luton Crown Court after admitting five counts of fraud.
The court heard his former fiancée, her father and her late grandmother all gave him money.
Prosecutor Marion Smullen said in total Mpofu received £38,282.51.
Zimbabwean Man Jailed In UK After £40, 000 Cancer Scam
Zimbabwean Man Jailed In UK After £40, 000 Cancer Scam. Image Credit: BBC
After he received the money, Mpofu said he was taking steroids to recover.
His former fiancée said she became increasingly suspicious and Mpofu stopped communicating with her.
When police examined his medical records, they found he had never been diagnosed with cancer.
In a victim’s statement, the ex-fiancée said:
“I was devastated and emotionally drained when told of his pancreatic cancer. From the bottom of my heart, I loved him.
“He proved to be a complete fraudster,” she said.
Jailing him, Judge David Farrell QC said:
“It is quite clear that the fraud involved wicked lies on your part that has had a devastating effect on the principal victim.”
In other news, iHarare reported that finance minister Mthuli Ncube has threatened to take stern measures against all companies contracted as government suppliers who are contributing to exchange rate and price instability.
According to the Finance Minister, the companies are contributing to this instability by diverting the funds they receive from the government to the illegal parallel market.
Some of the stern measures that the government will take include freezing bank accounts, blacklisting companies and directors, and seizing the funds of those convicted.-iharare
