Woman conned of $930k by ‘widower’ says scam nearly destroyed relationship with daughter
A woman who was conned out of more than $930,000 by a man posing as a widower says the scam nearly destroyed her relationship with her daughter.
The woman, who declined to be named, broke down in tears as she recounted to Shin Min Daily News how she had lent money intended for her daughter’s overseas university education to the man she believed she would marry.
Unable to pay the tuition fees after losing her savings, she had to take out bank loans so her daughter could complete her studies.
Earlier reports said Jiang Junyi (transliterated), a 57-year-old married fruit seller, was jailed for three years and seven months after cheating the woman, who is in her fifties, of more than $930,000.
He also admitted to stealing gold jewellery belonging to the victim’s sister and pawning it.
Thought he was divorced and looking for love
Speaking to Shin Min, the woman said she had been divorced for about 20 years and met Jiang online in October 2020.
He was the first man she dated after her divorce.
According to the woman, Jiang introduced himself as an administrative director at a company and claimed that his wife had died from illness, leaving him to raise their 10-year-old son.
Believing his story, she dated him for more than a year. She said he stayed at her home on weekdays and told her he returned to his own home on weekends to spend time with his son.
During their relationship, Jiang allegedly asked to borrow money on numerous occasions, claiming he needed funds because he had become a loan guarantor, his company required cash flow or he had been hospitalised.
The woman said she trusted him completely.
“He even showed me his bank account, which had money inside,” she told Shin Min. “He said the account had been frozen because he was a guarantor.”
She ended up lending him money that had been set aside for her daughter’s university fees.
Her elder sister also lent Jiang money that had been saved for her child’s wedding banquet, she added.
Had to borrow from bank to pay daughter’s fees
The woman said losing the money meant she could no longer afford her daughter’s overseas education.
“My daughter’s university fees alone came up to a six-figure sum every year,” she told Shin Min, adding that their relationship became strained.
She said she struggled to eat or sleep after discovering the truth and relied on sleeping pills for about two months.
She also admitted she had suicidal thoughts, but persevered because of her daughter.
Fighting back tears, she said she eventually took out bank loans so her daughter could finish university and return to Singapore.
Only later did her daughter tell her that she, too, had contemplated taking her own life during that difficult period.
“My heart broke when I heard that,” the woman said. “If I had never met this man...”
Although six years have passed, she said she has never truly recovered from the ordeal.
“I’ve become stronger for my daughter, but I no longer dare to trust relationships,” she said.
“This experience taught me to judge people more carefully and not to help others so readily.”
Discovered his ‘late wife’ was still alive
The woman said Jiang appeared well-mannered and respectable, earning the trust of both her family and daughter.
“He described his wife’s treatment and even her funeral in detail,” she told Shin Min.
She said she had spoken to the boy Jiang claimed was his son, bought gifts for him, helped him with maths homework and even exchanged text messages and letters with him.
After realising she had been cheated, the woman checked Jiang’s marital records and later went to his condominium.
There, she was shocked to discover that the wife Jiang claimed had died was actually alive.
“That’s when I realised I had become ‘the other woman’,” she said.
“I was very disappointed. He has never apologised.”
Fake accident photo exposed lies
The woman said the couple had even discussed marriage.
At one point, Jiang allegedly took her gold jewellery, claiming he needed it to compare sizes before buying a “four points gold” set — a traditional Chinese bridal gift set — for her.
Despite repeatedly asking for it back, she never recovered it.
She also said she had entrusted Jiang with her Rolex watch after he offered to send it for servicing together with one of his own luxury watches.
More than a year later, she still had not got it back.
According to Shin Min, the turning point came when Jiang sent her a photograph claiming a colleague had been involved in a traffic accident, supposedly explaining why he could not return the watch.
The woman said she searched for the image online and discovered it was fake.
Realising she had been deceived, she immediately lodged a police report.
She and her sister then checked their home and discovered that more gold jewellery had gone missing.
The woman also told Shin Min she spent more than $7,000 on legal fees trying to recover her losses, but ultimately received only $2,000.
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