The High Court’s Taichung branch upheld a district court’s decision to acquit a woman accused of being an accomplice to fraud and money laundering in a catfishing scheme, saying that her mental capacity was diminished by love.
The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), was a victim and unwitting accomplice to a fraudulent scheme devised by a person pretending to be a German military doctor named David, whom she fell in love with online, the court wrote in a judgement upholding the Taichung District Court’s verdict.
The judgement is not final.
Photo courtesy of Criminal Police Bureau
Chen in 2021 began an online relationship with David, who claimed to be deployed with the German military in Afghanistan, and sent her photos of a man in uniform and wounded soldiers being treated.
David told Chen he was awarded US$1.5 million in compensation from the Afghan president and wanted to live the rest of his life with her in Taiwan, but needed her to receive the money via wire transfer, it said.
The defendant received NT$710,000 (US$21,983) in three transfers, took NT$33,000 as a payment for her troubles as agreed with David, and converted the rest into cryptocurrency as instructed, the court said.
The funds went into an online wallet controlled by David, it added.
A portion of the money Chen used to buy cryptocurrency was traced to a woman surnamed Lin (林), who fell victim to a catfishing scheme involving a fake US military doctor named David, it said.
The rest of the sum is believed to be sourced from unidentified criminal enterprises carried out by the scammer pretending to be David or his associates.
Chen also paid NT$240,0000 for packages containing David’s belongings to various supposed delivery services, the court said, adding that these payments used up almost all of Chen’s savings.
Although prosecutors said that Chen being paid NT$33,000 was evidence that she knowingly helped to commit fraud, the court upheld the district court’s finding that the defendant “lost her reason” due to David’s emotional manipulation.
Chat records showed that Chen believed in David and was in love with the persona created by the unidentified scammer, the court said.
In addition, the fake packages Chen paid for cost almost all of the defendant’s savings, suggesting she was a victim, not an accomplice, it said.
Chen was mentally incompetent and could not be held responsible, it added.
The ruling came four months after the court acquitted Chen of a separate fraud charge linked to David’s money.
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