Beware of individuals on dating apps that provide too good to be true investment opportunities.
That is news from the office of the Recent York District Attorney who recently filed charges against the lying Lothario who allegedly cheated his lovers out of thousands and thousands.
Nelson Counne, also often known as “Nelson Roth” or “Justin Roth”, was charged in a Manhattan court with extorting greater than $1.8 million from five women through a series of affairs and investment fraud.
“He allegedly fueled lie after lie of ladies who falsely claimed to be desirous about them by luring them with investment opportunities that never existed, using their funds to repay past victims, lure recent ones, and fund his lifestyle,” said District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr.
Related: Scam artist who robbed the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC Blind. “Some guys couldn’t pay for the automotive.”
Dating for dollars
Counne, 69, met most of his victims through online dating sites, where he posed as a wealthy retired art dealer and investor with homes in London, Manhattan and the south of France, based on the indictment.
The truth is, Counne has no homes and never travels abroad – not even a passport. His only source of income was the cash he stole from his lovers between 2012 and 2021.
The scam worked as follows: after gaining the sympathy and trust of his victims, Counne convinced a lot of them to speculate in him. He never shared any details about his business dealings, claiming that the investments were in a “gray area between legal and illegal” and that he had access to inside information.
A few of his bogus investments included Alibaba and a start-up allegedly run by a former Google executive that will provide a web-based lottery that prospective students could pay for for a probability to win tuition.
“A lot of the victims were hesitant at first, but Counne persevered until each of them agreed to speculate,” based on a press release from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Ponzi scheme
Prosecutors say Counne ran a classic Ponzi scheme, using money from one in all his brands to pay for an additional. This allowed him to look wealthy to recent victims and to repay previous victims suspected of his fraud.
Counne is now charged with fraud in the primary degree, grand larceny within the second degree, and grand larceny within the third degree.
Such romance scams will not be unusual. In 2021, roughly 24,000 victims reported losing roughly $1 billion to romance scams, based on the FBI.