A 38-year-old Nigerian national, Samuel Ogun, has been arrested in Faridabad for allegedly defrauding multiple women of large sums of money by posing as a wealthy businessman on matrimonial platforms and social media.
The suspect, also known by the alias Stepney Derrick, was apprehended following investigations by Indian authorities into a series of cyber fraud cases spanning multiple states.
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cybercrime), Shavya Goyal, the accused created fake online profiles using attractive photographs and fabricated personal details to gain the trust of women seeking marriage. He allegedly presented himself as an international businessman based abroad.
After establishing contact, Samuel Ogun would gradually build emotional relationships with his victims, often promising marriage. To reinforce his claims, he reportedly sent fake flight tickets and parcel receipts, suggesting he was traveling to India to meet them.
Police said the scheme typically escalated when the suspect claimed that his luggage or parcels had been detained by customs authorities, requiring urgent payments for clearance. Convinced by the narrative, victims transferred substantial sums into multiple bank accounts controlled by the suspect.
Authorities revealed that losses in such cases ran into lakhs and crores of Indian rupees. In one instance under investigation in Noida, a woman was allegedly defrauded of nearly ₹56 lakh, while another victim lost approximately ₹1.3 crore.
In addition to the matrimonial scam, the suspect is also accused of running fraudulent loan schemes, promising quick approvals at low interest rates to deceive unsuspecting individuals.
Investigations further indicate that cases linked to Samuel Ogun have surfaced in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, raising concerns that the fraud network may be more extensive and involve multiple victims across the country.
During a raid on March 19, 2026, police recovered several items from the suspect’s residence in Faridabad, including five mobile phones, a laptop, a tablet, a Wi-Fi router, a dongle, numerous SIM cards, foreign currency, and multiple passports bearing different identities, along with forged documents.
Investigators believe the suspect used various fake identities and passports of different nationalities to evade detection. When one identity became compromised, he allegedly traveled abroad to obtain another before returning to continue his activities.
Digital evidence obtained from the seized devices suggests that he maintained simultaneous communication with between 15 and 16 women using different aliases, further highlighting the scale and sophistication of the operation.
Authorities have sent the confiscated electronic devices for forensic analysis as part of ongoing efforts to uncover additional victims and collaborators.
The arrest underscores growing concerns over cyber-enabled romance and matrimonial scams, which continue to target vulnerable individuals through deception and emotional manipulation across digital platforms.
