London Police Arrest Man for $221,000 Scam on Dating Website

A 24-year-old man was arrested today for defrauding people he met on an online dating website, London’s Metropolitan Police Service said.

One victim, a 69-year-old American woman, gave him 140,000 pounds ($221,000) after he claimed he needed the money for a business supplying police transportation for the London Olympic Games, the police said in an e-mailed statement today.

“Remember that just because they show you an official looking document, that still does not mean they are who they say they are,” Detective Superintendent Nick Downing said in an e- mailed statement.

The police made the arrest as part of Operation Podium, which investigates crimes such as ticket fraud and money laundering centered on the Olympic Games in London this year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Ben Moshinsky in London at bmoshinsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net;