A CONWOMAN allegedly tricked a love-struck man on a dating website into giving her tens of thousands of pounds by pretending she wanted to go on lavish holidays with him.
Neelam Desai, from Selhurst, appeared in court on Monday and admitted a series of frauds including a scam involving selling iPhones she never had.
Desai, 33, also pleaded guilty to running an international travel business – under the name Nisha Patel – while bankrupt.
This week the Advertiser spoke to two men who are convinced they are victims of other cons she has orchestrated while on bail for the offences she has now admitted.
A 35-year-old living in Leicester claims to have been conned out of £35,500 by a woman calling herself Nisha Patel, who first contacted him through Shaadi, an Asian marriage site.
He emptied the £15,000 joint life-savings he held with his father and took out a bank loan of £9,000 in the belief he was paying for holidays with the woman he had fallen for.
The vast majority of the money was paid into an account under the name "N. Desai" who Nisha said was her travel agent.
But the trips never happened, and she refused to pay him back as he fell victim to an elaborate scam in which N. Desai was a constant feature.
The man, whom the Advertiser has agreed not to identify, was first approached by Nisha Patel via Shaadi.com in December 2012.
They exchanged phone calls, texts and pictures. Hers would later turn out to have been taken from an unconnected person's Facebook page.
In January 2013, Nisha suggested going on holiday, even though they had never met. The Advertiser has seen a text in which she details upper-class flight plans and a stay in the executive king suite at the five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York.
She told him to book through her travel agent N. Desai, and he transferred a total of £6,164.
"I now see that I was a complete prat," he told the Advertiser. "I don't know why I did it. She was just so sweet. She sent me pictures of this gorgeous-looking girl. I never thought a guy like me would have a chance with someone like that."
Nisha cancelled the trip at the last minute. In February, she convinced him to rebook, as well as to pay cancellation fees and other charges relating to the first booking. He transferred £3,624. Again, she made an excuse and it never happened.
The deceit continued, and in March he handed over £1,520, a further £4,960 in April, and then £7,689 in May, but they still did not go on holiday.
He paid a total of £6,612 in June and then £1,239 in July, transferring money as many as three times a day and in sums ranging from £10 to more than £1,000.
In August his internet girlfriend, whom he had still not met despite repeated requests, turned nasty. She told him he had caused her friend, N. Desai, to miss her targets at work which she was relying on to pay her debt. He claims she threatened to go to the police unless he transferred money to "pay her mortgage". Scared, he paid £2,208.
The next month he handed over £448, what would turn out to be his final payment. In total he had transferred £35,364, losing his painting and decorating business in the process.
"At that point I was penniless and felt as low as you could get," he said.
"I was well into my overdraft, I had ruined my credit rating and I had to cease trading because I couldn't even afford materials," he said.
"Looking back I can't believe I did it. I thought paying her would hurry her up in paying me back. It was a stupid mistake and I feel utterly embarrassed."
Last August he reported what had happened to Leicestershire Police, who called the number he had been in contact with. The woman at the end of the phone admitted owing him money and said it would be paid back. To date he has received nothing.
In December he admitted to his friends what had happened. They hired a private detective, who traced Nisha Patel's mobile number to Neelam Desai's terraced home in Beulah Grove, Selhurst.
This week the Advertiser visited the house and put the allegations directly to Desai, who refused to comment and called the police.
The man is now in contact with officers in Croydon who investigated the crimes she has admitted.Excuses, excuses
In May last year the man from Leicester started asking for his money back.
The excuses he was given as to why she could not pay were as elaborate as her holiday con.
The Advertiser has seen a text message in which Nisha Patel claims her late father owned land that had been sold for £42 million and that she was due £8 million.
Nisha said she would pay him back once the money cleared, but in the meantime there were more charges to pay and holidays to book. The payments continued.Technology scam
After the man from Leicester was approached by "Nisha Patel" on the dating website, she offered him an opportunity.
Her brother, she said, was in the technology industry and could get him Apple products at discounted rates.
Nisha added that a friend – N. Desai – was doing a charity run and, in exchange for a donation of £900 he would be sent two iPhones, an iPad and an iMac.
The man paid the money in December 2012 but has never received the items. When he confronted Nisha her excuses ranged from bad weather to problems at the delivery office.'I felt suicidal'
THE man who thought he was paying for five-star holidays with Nisha Patel emptied the joint savings he held with his dad to pay her.
He has been unable to admit to his father why he used all £15,000 from their account.
He told the Advertiser: "He thinks the money went into my business and the business failed.
"I don't think I'll ever be able to tell him. He would be so disappointed. He's quite frail and I don't think he could take it.
"I felt so low about what had happened where there were times I thought about ending it. I contemplated leaving a note for my mum and dad saying goodbye.
"Now I'm rebuilding my life. I'm going to carry on working and hopefully I will be able to put a few thousand back in the account each year."'Email slip up gave game away'
The Advertiser has spoken to a second man who claims to have been conned during the same period, again after being approached by a woman on Shaadi.com.
Last November the man, from London, was offered the opportunity to buy an iPhone, an iPad and Currys vouchers by a woman calling herself Rima Vaghela.
This time payments totalling £950 were made to "N Desouza" but the items never arrived. While demanding his money back, the woman accidentally emailed him from the email account of Neelam.Desai.
The Advertiser has also discovered another connection. The pictures both men were sent were of the same woman.
The second victim reported the incident to the police and eventually was reimbursed the full amount this week.The charges
Neelam Desai pleaded guilty to a series of frauds – unconnected to these new allegations – when she appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Monday.
Desai, 33, of Beulah Grove, Selhurst, initially denied the accusations but, on the day of her trial, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, admitting that between December 2008 and February 27, 2009, she claimed to have the legal authority to use the account of Nila Desai and to sign two cheques on her behalf.
The former Boots worker also admitted three counts of handling stolen goods between March 31 and June 5, 2010, namely cheques belonging to Niraj Dhokia.
Desai pleaded guilty to engaging in a business while bankrupt between March 2009 and 16 June, 2010, running a business to supply international travel flights under the name Nisha Patel "that was other than the name she was adjudged bankrupt".
According to London Gazette records, Desai was declared bankrupt in March 2009.
Desai also pleaded guilty to three further counts of fraud, in that she made a false representation to three separate people that she had an iPhone 4S for sale with the intention of making a gain.
Seven other counts of fraud, six relating to cheques and one to an iPhone, are to remain on file.
She faces a confiscation hearing and is due to be sentenced on March 28.
