Janet Fordham. Photo: GoFundMe
By Face2Face Africa
Inquest into the death of a 69-year-old widow from Devon has heard she died in a car crash in Ghana after losing up to £1m ($1.3m) in several romance frauds.
Janet Fordham had traveled to the West African country to try recoup some of her lost fortune after being scammed over a period of five years by fraudsters believed to be in the UK, the U.S., Germany and Ghana, the inquest in Exeter was told, as reported by the Guardian.
A man based in Ghana had told Fordham, a retired housekeeper, that he could help her get some of her money back, but she was killed in a car crash as he drove.
Fordham had been warned by relatives and Devon and Cornwall police to stop sending money to scammers, but because she was of sound mind, nobody could force her to quit.
Everything began in 2017 when Fordham started using online dating websites, her daughter-in-law, Melanie Fordham, said. Fordham met a man claiming to be a British army sergeant major working in Syria who asked for her help to get gold bars to the UK, Melanie Fordham added.
“He was retiring soon to return to the UK,” Melanie Fordham said. “She said they were in love and they were going to buy a house together. I remember saying to her that it all seemed a little unbelievable, and the next thing he would be asking for money. I told her categorically not to send him any.” Still, Fordham reportedly sent over about £150,000.
She was subsequently defrauded by a man who claimed to be a diplomat. “I think she realized that she had been scammed, but initially struggled to accept it,” Melanie Fordham said. “We’re not clear how Janet transitioned from one fraud to the next. She transferred money by several means, including bank transfers, wire transfers at the post office, and potentially a travel agent.”
Later, a man in Ghana known as Kofi contacted Fordham, claiming he was a doctor who worked part-time at a friend’s mobile phone repair shop, the inquest heard. Kofi reportedly told her that he had found out she was being scammed, as he had come across a phone containing messages to and from Fordham.
Despite objections from her family, Fordham flew to Ghana’s capital, Accra, in October 2022 to meet Kofi. Melanie Fordham said: “I spoke to her doctor, sought legal advice, but because she was of sound mind, albeit brainwashed, she was deemed to have capacity and there was nothing we could do. She travelled with the intention and in the belief that she could retrieve some or all of that money.”
A romantic relationship began after Fordham and Kofi met, and the two agreed to marry, the inquest was told.
On Valentine’s Day in 2023, Kofi was driving her from Accra to the Oti region “to get approval from a family member for marriage” when the car swerved and flipped onto its roof, fatally injuring Fordham, who was not wearing a seatbelt.
No third party was involved in the crash, according to Devon and Cornwall police. Kofi was handed a suspended prison sentence and a fine after pleading guilty to driving offences.
Detective Sergeant Ben Smith, of Devon and Cornwall Police, told the inquest Fordham had been the victim of a “sustained fraud” between 2017 and 2022, adding that she sent an estimated £800,000-£1 million to fraudsters. Smith said the widow sold her home and land and had been living in a caravan in Devon.
“Police throughout these investigations have endeavoured to do everything they can to persuade Janet not to have any contact with the criminals and not to hand over money,” he said.
Philip Spinney, senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, said at the end of the hearing, “I conclude that Janet Fordham died as a consequence of a head injury that was probably sustained in a road traffic collision.”