Picture used for illustrative purpose only.

Mohammed Yaseen, Staff Reporter

The Dubai Misdemeanor Court sentenced an African man to one month in jail to be followed by deportation and fined him Dhs5,500 after being convicted of defrauding a European woman and stealing the same amount of the fine in collaboration with others who are still at large.

The defendants were also charged with attempting to steal more Dhs18,000 from the victim.

The case dates back to last February when a European woman filed a complaint in which she stated that she had been defrauded by a man, who claimed he was working for a bank in which she deposited her money.

According to the complainant, she received a call from the defendant requesting her to update her account data.

The complainant added that the defendant gave her information about her account details and the available balance just to support his allegation that he was an employee in the same bank.

At the end of the call, the defendant asked the victim to withdraw the money from her old account and deposit it in a new account, which was supposed to be her new account.

The victim withdrew Dhs5,500 and deposited it in the other account, which was found that it belonged to the defendant.

Later, the defendant called the victim once again and asked her to transfer Dhs18,000 to the same account but the transaction was rejected by the bank.

On the following day, the complainant visited the bank to inquire about the call she had received from the defendant.

The bank, however, told her that she fell victim to a scam and that her Dhs5,500 had been stolen after she had deposited the amount in the defendant’s  account.

According to the official documents, the bank conducted internal investigations and managed to identify and arrest the defendant.

On interrogation, the defendant confessed to having collaborated with others to defraud the woman and steal Dhs5,500 from her account.