A 70-year-old man dubbed the “Worst Boyfriend on the Upper East Side” scammed at the very least 5 Manhattan ladies out of over $1.8 million, prosecutors claimed Monday.
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Nelson Counne was arraigned on prices of fraud and grand larceny for reportedly romancing lonely ladies on courting web sites, telling them he was a rich investor and artwork collector, based on the New York Post.
70-Year-Old Dubbed “Worst Boyfriend On The Upper East Side” Indicted On Fraud, Grand Larceny Charges
After a number of dates, he would then persuade the lady into making massive investments in pretend corporations.
“In the end, almost all of Counne’s representations proved to be false,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Kofi Sansculotte mentioned in court docket.
Sansculotte – the top of the workplace’s Financial Frauds Bureau – added: “He was not independently wealthy and the only funds into his accounts were from confirmed and suspected victims of his romance scams.”
Counne lied about having houses within the South of France and London, however appeared to have by no means travelled overseas and didn’t even personal a passport, the prosecutor mentioned.
Prosecutors have accused Nelson Counne of scamming over $1.8 million from a number of ladies he met on courting apps, leading to his indictment on a number of prices.#NelsonCounneScam#NelsonCounne#RomanceScam#NewYorkhttps://t.co/vDiru7SONO
— Its Wikipedia (@its_wikipedia) March 14, 2023
“Further, the money put into his accounts by the victims were never used for any investments but were instead used to perpetuate the illusion of his wealth to new victims and to repay previous victims who had detected his fraud,” Sansculotte mentioned.
Alleged Romance Scammer Lied To Victims With Fake Investment Opportunities After Starting Relationships
The Post studies Counne allegedly used the phony alias of Nelson or Justin Roth, and would usually begin pitching the pretend funding alternatives shorty after beginning a brand new relationship.
Counne reportedly advised his victims the funding alternatives have been for the Alibaba Group – which he falsely claimed he had entry to – in addition to a pretend start-up firm he mentioned he co-owned with a former Google govt, based on prosecutors.
After he would bilk the lady into making preliminary investments, prosecutors say he would then return to the nicely for extra, whereas telling them the cash would go to staffer salaries and bills.
Nelson Counne Allegedly Scams Women Out Of $1,800,000 In Romance Scam: District Attorney https://t.co/d4T2DJ6ukv by way of @DailyCaller
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) March 14, 2023
“Worst Boyfriend On The UES” Charged With Similar Crime Last Year, Lawyer Defends Him As “Elderly Man”
A May 2022 piece by the New Yorker journal truly dubbed Counne the “Worst Boyfriend on the Upper East Side” resulting from his reported romance scams.
Counne is hardly new to romance scamming, and was charged final yr for conning a Connecticut girl out of $500,000, based on the Greenwich Time.
It stays unclear if or how that case was resolved.
Meanwhile, Counne’s legal professional Dannielle Von Lehman tried to characterize Counne as “an elderly man” who has at all times proven up for prior court docket appearances in Manhattan Supreme Court on Monday.
“Mr. Counne [is] an elderly man,” Von Lehman mentioned. “He’s 70 years old. He has lived in the same address on 82nd Street for the past 25 years. He has a prior criminal history but he has zero failures to appear and throughout the entire time.”
NEW: We introduced the indictment of Nelson Counne for stealing greater than $1.8M from 5 ladies via a collection of romance & funding scams. Read extra right here: https://t.co/j125hpAEXT
— Alvin Bragg (@ManhattanDA) March 13, 2023
Criminal Record Dates Back To 2007, Scammer Held On $150K Cash Bail Or $750K Bond
His legal report dates again to 2007, nevertheless no additional particulars on his historical past have been offered.
Judge Gregory Carro ordered Counne held on $150,000 money bail or a bond of as much as $750,000, along with his subsequent court docket look scheduled for May 3.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg mentioned in a press release that scamming has been Counne’s sole supply of revenue for the previous eight years.
“He allegedly fed lie after lie to women he falsely claimed to have a romantic interest in, enticing them with investment opportunities that never existed while using their funds to repay past victims, lure in new ones, and fund his lifestyle,” the assertion mentioned.
If you or somebody you already know has been a sufferer of a rip-off, name the District Attorney’s Office at 212-335-8900.