Playing matchmaker to his own mother

A young man from Chisinau might spend up to 20 years in jail for an internet marriage fraud that reserved the role of fiancé for his own mother. The man, 24, managed to swindle EUR 1,200 from a citizen of Finland, interested in a potential marriage with the Moldovan woman. When he was arrested he attempted to bribe the police officers, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the man posted information about his mother on a matrimonial webpage and exchanged letters with a citizen of Finland, who started to believe in a possible marriage with the woman aged 56. After they chatted via internet for more than two months, the suspect, on behalf of his mother, requested money from the “groom”, presenting different pretexts, such as the need to purchase a mobile telephone to ease the communication, or money for the travel to Finland. The foreigner had serious intentions and was even awaiting his “lady love” on a fixed day. When he understood that he was deluded and robbed, the Finish citizen announced the Moldovan authorities. After a series of investigations into the fraud, the man was arrested by the police on charges of swindling EUR 1200 from the foreign citizen. When arrested, the suspect attempted to bribe the police offers with EUR 900 in order to hush up the case and to stop the legal proceedings against him. As a consequence, he is investigated both for fraud and “active corruption”.