‘Despicable’ catfisher conned her own friend out of £90,000 life savings

A woman who catfished a female friend and drained her life savings after pretending to be a ‘pretty boy’ has been jailed.

Sumaiya Khurram, 33, drained her victim’s £90,000 bank account by enticing her with images of an attractive man on WhatsApp.

She pretended to be a man who needed private treatment for blood cancer and exploited her friend, whom she had known for two decades.

Birmingham Crown Court was told that the ‘despicable’ deceit lasted for 20 months until the victim ran out of money.

Khurram, from Bordesley Green, Birmingham, previously pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to three years and nine months last week.

Sentencing Judge Peter Cooke described it as ‘one of the most despicable cases of its kind he had ever come across.’

The court heard that Khurram had sent numerous pictures of a young Asian male, including one with a heart with the words ‘I love you.’

All communications were conducted via WhatsApp and included ‘sexual’ discussions.

Andrew Wallace, prosecuting, said ‘The victim was a vulnerable individual who had obvious physical disabilities and who believed that the defendant was her friend. She was inexperienced in the ways of the world.’

He stated that the offence occurred between 2015 and 2017 and the victim had been introduced to someone named Etesham Khan by Khurram.

The defendant exploited the victim’s devout Muslim faith, duping her into believing she would meet and marry Khan.

Prosecutor Mr Wallace recalled how the victim was scammed out of £92,300, having been deceived that her non-existent lover suffered from blood cancer and required private care.

Mr Wallace noted: ‘At the same time the defendant was acting as her confidante discussing the relationship and encouraging it. Even after the money had run out there were threats made by the defendant of exposing it.’

In her statement, the victim, who considered Khurram a friend for 20 years and someone aware of her past bullying and trust issues, said: ‘She has taken away my health and wealth and I have felt like taking my own life at times.’

Sentencing, the judge said ‘Your families have been on friendly terms for 20 years plus and you have been or pretended to be her friend since your teens. You knew all about her, of course, you knew of her physical disabilities and mobility difficulties. You knew of her character and made a shrewd assessment.

‘You knew full well how vulnerable she was when you embarked on this wicked scheme. She was inexperienced in the ways of the world and you dangled before her the images of a pretty boy, a character you created.’

Justin Jarmola, defending, said Khurram had shown remorse and although it was ‘catfishing of a particular nasty nature’ it was not that sophisticated or required that much planning.

He added the offence had been committed many years ago and that the defendant had not offended since.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.