‘You’ve been used’ — judge tells British woman who sent £11,500 to Nigerian ‘scammer’

Jane Pope, a woman in Whitehaven, England, has sent £11,500 from her husband’s bank account to a Nigerian man she met on Facebook.

The 55-year-old woman was sentenced to 180 days in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to undergo 45 days of rehabilitation at a West Cumbria Magistrates court on Friday after she admitted sending £4,000 and £7,500 from her husband’s bank account to her Nigerian Facebook friend, without the knowledge of the husband, as she managed the finances for both herself and her husband.

Pamela Fee, the prosecutor, said Pope had filled out a loan application online and sent a cheque from the cheque book of her husband.

Michael Woolaghan, the defence counsel, said Pope was particularly vulnerable and had developed an internet-based relationship with a man in Nigeria.

Gerald Chalk, district judge, said there had been a “clear breach of trust”.

“You’ve been used. You are being a fool to yourself by continuing to speak to the man. I don’t want you back in the dock again,” Chalk said.

The probation report, however, indicated that she was “quite isolated” and her Facebook friend had been “able to exercise quite significant control”.

It said she “got things she didn’t get in her own relationship” from the friendship, including being able to discuss her problems and “compliments”.

The Nigerian scammer who had originally posed as a white, British man when he added Pope as a friend on Facebook spoke to her very often while the husband warned her that it looked like a scam.