>>
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021026/Predators-paradise-How-divorcees...
>>
>> British divorcee falls in love with a holiday toyboy - then realises he
>> just sees her as a meal-ticket. So far, so depressingly familiar. But
>> Sarah's story has a sinister and utterly unexpected twist.
>>
>>
>> Duped: Sarah Matheson with her Indian lover Farouk, who conned her out of
>> £80,000
>>
>> Farouk's soulful brown eyes looked deeply into those of his girlfriend's
>> as they sat at a beach bar, the waves of the Indian Ocean lapping feet
>> away.
>>
>>
>> 'I cannot get a loan here, and the money will safeguard our future,' he
>> said to her. 'I will be able to build up my business and then I can take
>> care of you for ever.'
>>
>>
>> Without hesitating, Sarah Matheson handed over a cheque for £60,000. This
>> was money from a loan secured against her detached four-bedroom house in
>> Surrey.
>>
>> But home, for the divorced 54-year-old IT systems analyst, seemed a very
>> long way away at that moment.
>>
>> At the time, Sarah, who has three grown-up children, was renting out her
>> house and had taken a sabbatical from her high-powered career.
>>
>>
>> Against the advice of her children, she had flown to Calangute, in the
>> northern part of Goa, India, to spend time and plan her future with her
>> Kashmiri boyfriend, Farouk.
>>
>>
>> He had told her he was in his mid-30s. In fact, she found out later when
>> she looked at his passport that he was 29.
>>
>> 'I know everyone reading this will be shaking their heads and thinking:
>> "How could you be so gullible?"' she says. 'But imagine my position. I was
>> a divorcee who had been on my own for ten years. I had a reasonable amount
>> of money, my own stylish home and a great career.
>>
>> 'But I was bored stiff. My children had left home, and I was looking into
>> a bleak and lonely future. This beautiful young man offered an escape. . .
>> Not just to passionate sex and attention, but also the chance of a new
>> life.
>>
>>
>> 'I could live here in this stunning place, with the sea and the sun, for
>> the rest of my days. He painted such a vivid picture of our future
>> together that the fact he needed money seemed so unimportant, so trifling.
>>
>>
>> 'He was so very persuasive and plausible, saying that it was almost
>> impossible to borrow money in India and that this money would not only
>> secure our futures but that he would pay me back in full. I was in love,
>> and looking through rose-tinted glasses.'
>>
>> A harsh home-coming
>>
>> But Sarah was about to become one of the thousands of mature British women
>> falling victim to young foreign men who prey on them in holiday
>> destinations around the world.
>>
>>
>> Today, she is back home, alone, in Surrey. There is no lover with the
>> soulful eyes and promise of a sun-drenched romantic future.
>>
>>
>> Instead, she has letters from her mortgage and loan company telling her
>> that she must pay the arrears or she will be evicted from her home.
>>
>> In tears, she says: 'I cannot believe I fell for this. It is a scam, an
>> absolute con. The reason I am speaking out about what is a deeply shameful
>> episode in my life is that I desperately want to warn other women like me
>> that you must not fall for this trick.
>>
>>
>> 'It will ruin your life. If I could, I would put leaflets on the planes
>> flying to holiday destinations like Goa, warning women to beware.'
>>
>>
>> Since Sarah's world came crashing down in May of last year, she has been
>> fighting with the Goan government and legal system to try to bring a case
>> against Farouk.
>>
>>
>> But her British solicitor has warned her it will be virtually impossible
>> and potentially very costly. Not only that, but she has been in contact
>> with five other British women who have been scammed the same way by
>> Farouk's friends, and is keen to begin a campaign to stop this happening
>> to anyone else.
>>
>>
>> Conned: Sarah gave her Kashmiri boyfriend, Farouk, a cheque for £60,000
>> secured against her house to help him 'build up his business'
>>
>> 'I am an intelligent woman, and yet I fell for his lies, hook, line and
>> sinker,' Sarah admits. 'Even the Goan tourism minister has admitted to me
>> that this is a problem. Women holidaymakers are tremendously vulnerable.
>> They are being targeted from the moment they step off the plane.'
>>
>>
>> What happened to Sarah is a classic case. 'I went to Goa on holiday with a
>> girlfriend, with no thoughts whatsoever of meeting a man. I simply wanted
>> to chill out, get a tan and read a lot of good books. We spent the first
>> day on the beach, and then went to an attractive thatched beach bar for
>> lunch.
>>
>>
>> 'During our meal, I became aware of a man staring at me. He was
>> darkskinned with black hair, typically Indian-looking, and very attractive
>> with big brown eyes. His approach was very casual. He wandered over and
>> sat down next to us.
>>
>>
>> 'He said: "Hi, how are you? How long are you staying in Goa? Where are you
>> staying?"'
>> Sarah says there was nothing about his approach that rang alarm bells. 'I
>> just thought he was a very friendly, nice guy. He spoke good English, and
>> he told us that his family was very poor and that he worked to send money
>> back to them in Kashmir.
>>
>>
>> 'I thought he was maybe late-30s, and he told us he ran a chain of
>> jewellery and furniture shops.
>>
>>
>> 'I did think it was a bit odd that this "businessman" would be hanging
>> around a beach bar in a T-shirt and jeans, but it was a different
>> culture.'
>>
>>
>> He invited them both out for a drink that evening. He said he had a friend
>> who would join them.
>>
>>
>> 'We met up that night, and went to a cheap cafe and ate a prawn curry. It
>> was a fun evening, relaxed, and there was no pressure. But he kept
>> catching my eye, as if he was attracted to me.
>>
>>
>> 'Despite my reservations, I found it exciting. He was so good looking. I
>> know it sounds unlikely, but I really felt he liked me - even though I
>> was a size 16 at the time.'
>>
>>
>> Farouk told Sarah he had just come out of a long relationship, and that he
>> was feeling vulnerable. On the second night, he tenderly kissed her, and
>> Sarah says she felt so many old emotions flare into life.
>>
>>
>> 'His friend was trying to kiss my friend too, but she would have none of
>> - she was married, and told him so.'
>>
>>
>> Inseparable
>>
>> That week, Sarah and Farouk became inseparable. 'My friend told me I was
>> being silly, but I was caught up in the romance of it all. We'd meet up
>> every night after he had finished work, and twice we slept together.
>>
>>
>> 'We used contraception, and I did not even think I was taking a risk. He
>> was so tender and loving. When we said goodbye to each at the hotel before
>> I flew home he was in tears. He said he loved me.'
>>
>>
>> Sarah was on cloud nine as she flew home. 'My friend said I had to realise
>> this was simply a fling, but I convinced myself this was a proper
>> relationship. We rang and e-mailed constantly each other, and two months
>> later I flew back on my own to Goa to see him.'
>>
>>
>> Throwing herself into his arms at the airport, Sarah was overjoyed. 'We
>> spent three weeks together, lying on the beach, eating in bars, sipping
>> wine by the sea. It was idyllic. Yes, I usually paid for everything, but
>> Farouk said his business was going through a bad patch.'
>>
>>
>> Leaving him was so hard that, a few months later, she decided to take a
>> year's sabbatical from her job and rent a house in Goa.
>>
>>
>> 'My family thought I had gone insane,' she says. 'But I was totally in
>> love with him by now. I rented out my house, put all my financial affairs
>> in order and flew to Goa.'
>>
>>
>> She rented a two-bedroom villa in a palm grove a mile from the coast in
>> Calangute, and settled into a dream-like, surreal existence.
>>
>>
>> 'My rent was only a £100 a month, whereas I was getting £600 a month
>> for my home in Surrey, and I felt I was flush with money.
>>
>>
>> 'I cooked and cleaned, waiting for him to come home from work, and sat on
>> the beach or in the garden reading. During the days, I'd wander through
>> the markets, chatting to local people. It was wonderful - like a
>> permanent holiday.'
>>
>>
>> Several of her friends from the UK came to stay, and although they were
>> suspicious of Farouk, remarked that Sarah had never looked better.
>>
>>
>> 'The weight fell off me and I was so brown from lying in the sun. I felt
>> ten years younger. Farouk was so attentive and loving, and we talked about
>> us getting married, or him coming back to England with me.'
>>
>>
>> Money, Farouk told her, was the problem - and Sarah happily handed it
>> over. Farouk then announced he needed a visa to come and see her in
>> England, but he couldn't get one.
>>
>>
>> Sarah, who felt she needed to check on her home, flew back alone to the
>> UK. 'At home, I sent a carefully-worded sponsorship letter via Farouk to
>> the Goan authorities, asking them to grant Farouk a visa.'
>>
>>
>> Then, bizarrely, she received a phone call at home in Surrey from an
>> Englishwoman, of about her age.
>>
>>
>> The first warning
>>
>> 'She asked me how to get a visa for her Indian boyfriend. Like me, she was
>> a professional woman, and I asked her how on earth she had got my number
>> and knew my situation.'
>>
>>
>> The answer sent the first warning chill down Sarah's back. 'She told me
>> her boyfriend was a friend of Farouk, and that he had shown his friend my
>> sponsorship letter. This woman said her boyfriend was "desperate" to get
>> to the UK.'
>>
>>
>> The two women agreed to meet up. 'This was when my world fell apart,' she
>> says. 'She showed me photos not only of herself with her Indian boyfriend,
>> but also pictures of Farouk with his arm around one of her girlfriends.'
>>
>>
>> Together, the two women began to put the pieces of the jigsaw together.
>>
>>
>> Sarah decided to fly out and confront Farouk with the photographs. By now,
>> she had given him an incredible £80,000 - £20,000 from her savings, and
>> £60,000 from a bank loan which was ostensibly to save his business.
>>
>>
>> 'He denied everything, in floods of tears. He said he was not having a
>> relationship with the woman in the photo, it was all lies.'
>>
>>
>> By now, however, Sarah knew the trust had gone. 'I realised I had been
>> such a fool, and had been duped out of this money. I told him he had to
>> pay me back, and that our relationship was over.'
>>
>>
>> Back at home, she waited for the money to arrive. Although she was now
>> working again, her finances were suffering.
>>
>>
>> 'He sent me a few hundred pounds, but then nothing. I called his bank -
>> he'd shut the account the money was in. He refused to return my calls.'
>>
>>
>> Even worse, it occurred to her that she might have put her health at risk,
>> and had an HIV test. 'Waiting for the results was horrific, but thank
>> goodness they came back negative.'
>>
>>
>> With increasing panic, Sarah got in touch with a solicitor, who said it
>> would be a very hard case to fight. She now knows Farouk spent the money
>> on land, and is building himself a house.
>>
>> Insult to injury
>>
>> She has also discovered her sponsorship letter was distributed by Farouk
>> to at least five of his friends having relationships with British women,
>> all of whom have since contacted Sarah as she put her address and phone
>> number on the letter.
>>
>>
>> 'I told them all bluntly this was a scam, and that their "lovers" were
>> simply out to fleece them. I was met with a range of reactions - blind
>> disbelief, tears and anger.'
>>
>>
>> She says many, many more British women have been conned by young men. 'I
>> know they are buying them gifts, sending money, while they swear undying
>> love. Wake up and smell the coffee. I know one woman who has already lost
>> her home.
>>
>>
>> 'They are so embarrassed to talk about it, but someone has to stand up and
>> admit what is happening. So far I am one of the few, but I hope more will
>> talk about it openly. Quite simply, it is ruining lives.'
>>
>>
>> Sarah is now facing up to the fact that she may have to sell her home
>> before it is repossessed.
>>
>>
>> 'I can't afford to repay this loan and my mortgage. I am beside myself
>> with anger and grief. I can't believe I threatened my own security by
>> being so stupid.'
>>
>>
>> Sarah would like the Indian government to admit this is a major problem
>> for tourists and take some action against men like Farouk.
>>
>>
>> It has all proved an expensive lesson for Sarah. She says: 'I love my
>> home. It is my security, my safe place, and I have put my own safety and
>> my children's inheritance in jeopardy for a senseless fling in a hot
>> climate.'
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> What did that fat old farting tub of chip lard expect, she certainly didn't
> attract that bloke with her looks!!!!
>
>
