Who said that a Finnish man should be less seductive than a Spanish or an Italian? Finland also has its own 'Casanovas' and women in need of love should stay away from them.
In the Ostrobothnia region (whose capital city is Oulu) there is at least one 'Don Juan' who in the last ten years deceived dozens of women with his promises of love. Among his victims are women of different ages, from the elderly to women probably in their forties.
According to information published by the Financial Crimes Unit of the Ostrobothnia Police Department, the aforementioned 'Romeo' is a man from Central Ostrobothnia born in the 1960's. He used to 'hunt' his future female financiers in dance venues, cruises and other crowded entertainment places. First he chose his prey, then he approached them and gained their trust through beautiful words.
"A trusting relationship can emerge very quickly because people who act so deceitfully are good at talking," police said.
The police are aware of at least 37 plaintiffs from all over Finland, but then number of victims is probably higher. The oldest scammed woman was born in the 1930's. In fact, most of the victims are "considerably older." However, there are also "some" women the same age as him and "a few" younger, the investigators detailed.
A life together
The suspect in these romance scams managed to build a relationship of trust with the women through promises of love and a life together.
Sometimes he even 'worked' on several women at the same time. They all ended up reaching the point where the alleged scammer, for various reasons, started asking them for amounts of money that he had no intention of returning.
The amounts received vary according to the cases: from "a few thousand" to "hundreds of thousands of euros," according to the police.
The total amount scammed exceeds 1.3 million euros. The money cannot even be recovered in its entirety, because according to the police, the deceiver spent it "on various purposes."
Aggravated fraud
The alleged scammer was arrested during the preliminary investigation, on suspicion of fraud and aggravated fraud.
Police expect to complete the preliminary investigation "in late summer" and the case will be then transferred to the prosecution.
The police wanted to use the publication of this case also to warn people not to give or lend money after a short relationship. "When the time comes to pay off the loan, there will always be new explanations for not paying," they say.
The police say that advice is even more relevant "in the summer time" when people travel and new relationships are formed, either in person or through the internet.
"It is worth to be skeptical in a healthy way despite the love drug."
"True love remains in spite of everything, even if one does not give or lend money," , is the phrase with which the police press release ends.
