Crime Branch nabs Afghan national for scamming US woman

Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested an Afghan national, who had ensnared an American woman on social networking sites, and extorted money from her to the tune of 86,000 USD by threatening to link her with terror funding in Kabul.

The accused, Hameedullah, had also threatened the woman with acid attacks, and made explicit videos with her in a bid to shame her.

The case came to light when Crime Branch received a complaint from the woman. In her complaint, she reported that she had met the accused on Facebook, who had initially posed as one MK Fahim.

"He started chatting with her and then became good friends with her. Eventually, the two started to meet up and their relationship turned physical.

He promised her that he would marry her in time and she believed him," said Joint Commissioner of Police, Ravindra Yadav.

The accused then went on to prepare fake marriage documents and showed that the woman was his lawfully wedded wife. This was the period when he began to sexually assault her; but she tolerated the ordeal, thinking that they would eventually find happiness.

However, her troubles worsened when Hameedullah started to ask her for money. "He would come up with various reasons to ask for money. Hewould tell her that he needed money for his professional work and he managed to extort an astronomical amount of 86,000 USD," said a Crime Branch official.

The woman was unable to report the matter to anyone as he had made explicit videos and used them to silence her.

Hameedullah used to transfer the money through Western Union Money transfer, and would withdraw the amount in India. The woman, who was desperate to find out his real identity, got the shock of her life when she found that he was listed as a notorious scamster, on the website, www.whoscammedyou.com.

When she confronted him, he threatened that he would approach the Federal Bureau of Investigation and tell them that the money that she had transferred was used for funding terror groups in Kabul.

The accused was arrested after he was located to be near Hyatt Hotel in RK Puram. On interrogation, it was found that he and his family had fled Afghanistan due to war. He arrived in India in 2011 on a tourist visa, which he later converted to a medical visa.

Hameedullah had used his mastery over several languages to ensnare several women, "He had excellent communication skills and would targetthem on social media. He had opened up several accounts to target many women," Yadav added.