TWO men accused of being involved in a match.com dating scam, in which a Basingstoke woman lost £174,000, have been found guilty.

Monty Emu, 28, of Frencham Road, Southsea, and Adewunmi Nusi, 26, of Bomford Close, Hermitage, Berkshire, were found guilty of money laundering today by a jury at Winchester Crown Court, after two days of deliberation.

The charges related to a scam on the dating website match.com, in which victims were duped into sending money to men with fake profiles.

Around £220,000 was handed over to the gang, including £174,000 by Basingstoke woman Suzanne Hardman, the trial heard.

Two other men had pleaded guilty to charges at the start of the trial - Emmanuel Oko, 29, of Waverley Grove, Southsea, to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, and Chukwuka Ugwu, 28, of Somers Road, Southsea, to money laundering.

Another defendant Brooke Boston, 28, of Chelsea Road, Southsea, was found not guilty of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

Judge Susan Evans had ordered another defendant Eberechi Ekpo, 26, of Adair Road, Southsea, be found not guilty of money laundering and fraud by false representation.

After the verdicts, Detective Constable Darrin Carey said: “This case centres around a web of lies constructed by a devious group of people with the sole intention of exploiting emotionally vulnerable women for financial gain.

“All members of this group played their part in these offences, which left nine women feeling used and embarrassed and had seen them lose significant amounts of money.

“These verdicts should send out a clear message to people who think they can hide behind fake profiles and carry out these scams again and again, that they will be caught and dealt with by the courts.”

The four defendants will be sentenced during the week beginning Monday, October 13.