A heartless romance fraudster who duped a Nottingham resident out of £16,000 after posing as a professional footballer has been jailed.
Hesaam Ghori, aged 27, struck up a close relationship with the young woman before spinning a web of lies that manipulated her into sending him vast sums of money over a 14-month period.
A Nottinghamshire Police investigation found Ghori had also conned three other victims elsewhere in England – duping them out of £2,320, £350 and £521 respectively.
Detectives arrested him at his Nottingham address in April last year and put him before the courts.
He admitted four counts of fraud by false representation and was jailed for two years and four months after appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (12 May).
The hearing heard his crimes were uncovered by a police investigation codenamed Operation Kickboard.
The probe was launched in 2023 when the Nottingham victim told officers she had been financially exploited by Ghori over a prolonged period and that she’d lost £16,203.71 as a result.
The woman, who is in her mid-20s, said Ghori had contacted her in October 2021 on Instagram, having seen her profile on a dating site.
They exchanged numerous messages in which Ghori claimed he was a professional footballer at Burton Albion and had a sponsorship deal with a clothing brand.
Eventually they met up in person and Ghori told the woman he loved her and wanted to marry her.
After forming a relationship, Ghori began to request money for a host of deceitful reasons – such as his sister requiring private treatment for cancer.
At one point, he even claimed he had stomach cancer and again asked for money so that he could undergo private treatment.
Each time he promised he’d pay her back but failed to do so after coming up with excuse after excuse.
His lies were eventually exposed when the woman came across a post on TikTok that showed Ghori in attendance at a wedding on the same day he was supposed to be in hospital undergoing cancer treatment.
The woman reported the matter to Nottinghamshire Police after realising she had been a victim of a romance scam and that everything Ghori had told her was lies.
Detectives soon linked the case to three similar reports made by women in Leeds, Bradford and Reading. The women were each in their 20s and sent Ghori money after he gained their trust online.
Whilst their losses were significantly lower than the Nottingham victim, the emotional impact of falling victim to Ghori’s lies was also considerable.
At court, the Nottingham victim provided a statement that described the impact of Ghori’s “heartless” deception.
The statement said: “Over several months, we communicated daily, sharing stories, dreams, and plans for the future. I began to trust him deeply and he made me believe we were building a real relationship and at some point, we’d get married and start a family together.
“As the relationship developed Hesaam began to plead for significant amounts of money telling me he needed funds for medical emergencies i.e his sister having cancer, himself having cancer. Hesaam told me he needed money for flights to visit family abroad for family emergencies, house burdens, and money to pay for our wedding.
“On each occasion Hesaam promised he’d pay me back in full. I felt compelled to assist Hesaam as I loved him. I transferred money repeatedly, believing it would alleviate his difficulties and bring us closer.”
The Nottingham woman went on to describe how the “emotional devastation caused by this crime” was something she continues to “grapple with every day”.
She added: “When Hesaam told me he and his little sister were battling cancer, I felt an overwhelming sense of compassion and responsibility to support them. I poured my heart into being there for them emotionally and financially, believing that I was helping someone I loved through a life-threatening ordeal.
“The most painful part of it all is now knowing that Hesaam exploited my kindness and manipulated me to make financial gains for himself. Every word he said, every message he sent, every promise he made and every tearful plea he made was calculated to manipulate me. Learning that this was a complete fabrication has left me feeling utterly betrayed and devastated.”
In passing sentence, Judge Tina Dempster told Ghori his crimes had a “significant impact” on his victims, adding that he had exploited their “kindness and generosity” in order to fund a lifestyle that served his own pleasure, including “flight tickets to Pakistan, a moderately expensive car and football tickets to Liverpool games”.
As well as handing him a prison sentence, Ghori was made subject to a five-year restraining order in relation to all victims. A Proceeds of Crime hearing to determine how much he will have to repay will take place a later date.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Nabeel Dad, who led the investigation, said:
“Ghori went to great lengths to build rapport with his victims and gain their trust, before fabricating stories to exploit them out of vast sums.
“He demonstrated a cynical disregard for his victims, grooming them with romantic promises before manipulating them for his own selfish financial gain.
“We want to encourage all those who think they’ve been a victim of romance fraud to not feel embarrassed or ashamed but rather report it.
“Romance fraud is a particularly callous offence and Nottinghamshire Police will always seek to get justice for victims.
“We do this because not only do fraudsters inflict financial loss on their victims, they also cause an enormous amount of emotional hurt and pain.
“I am pleased Ghori has been brought to justice for his cruel and heartless crimes. Hopefully, this case will serve to act as a deterrent to other romance fraudsters who prey on victims in the same way.”
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