‘Despicable’ woman robbed friend of savings and posed as ‘beautiful’ suitor

'Despicable' woman robbed friend of savings and posed as 'beautiful' suitor

A ‘bad’ woman who cynically robbed a friend of her savings by pretending to be a ‘nice boy’ who was in love with her has been jailed.

Sumaiya Khurram, 33, convinced her victim to part with more than $110,000 after ‘dangling’ images of an attractive man in front of her on WhatsApp.

She posed as a man needing private treatment for blood cancer and took advantage of her friend of 20 years.


Sumaiya Khurram, woman who cheated on her boyfriend by pretending to be an attractive man who was in love with her
Sumaiya Khurram, 33, convinced her victim to part with more than $110,000 after ‘dangling’ images of an attractive man in front of her on WhatsApp. West Midlands Police / SWNS

Birmingham Crown Court heard the ‘despicable’ deception lasted 20 months before the victim ran out of money.

Khurram, of Bordesley Green, Birmingham, previously admitted fraud and was jailed for three years and nine months last week.

Judge Peter Cooke described it as: “One of the most despicable cases of its kind he had ever encountered.”

The court was told Khurram had sent numerous photos of a young Asian man, including one with a heart with the words ‘I love you’.

The communication was all via WhatsApp and included discussions about “how far she would go sexually.”

Andrew Wallace, prosecuting, said: “This case involves the defendant catching her friend by pretending to be a boy who had a crush on her.

“She (the victim) was a vulnerable individual with significant physical disabilities who believed the suspect was her boyfriend.

“She was inexperienced in the manners of the world.”

He said the crime took place between 2015 and 2017 and the victim was introduced by Khurram to someone called Etesham Khan.

The defendant then took advantage of the victim’s strict Islamic faith and believed Khan was someone she would meet and marry.

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Wallace said the victim was scammed into handing over $113,300 after she was told her fictional lover was suffering from blood cancer and needed private care.

Wallace added: “At the same time, the defendant acted as her confidante, discussing and encouraging the relationships.


Close-up of a woman in a bathrobe using a laptop in the evening to complete her work assignment.
Judge Peter Cooke described the scam as “one of the most despicable cases of its kind he had ever come across.” LumineImages – stock.adobe.com

“Even after the money ran out, there were threats from the defendant to make it public.”

He said the victim made a total of 52 payments and the money ended up in her account or transferred to members of her family.

In a statement, the victim said they had been friends for 20 years and that Khurram, who knew she had been bullied at school, had betrayed her trust.

She added: “She took away my health and wealth and I felt like killing myself at times.”

Sentencing, the judge said: ‘Your families have been on friendly terms for over twenty years and you have been, or pretended to be, her friend since your teenage years.

“You knew everything about her, of course, you knew about her physical disabilities and mobility problems.

‘You knew her character and made a smart assessment.

“You knew very well how vulnerable she was when you started this evil plan.

“She was inexperienced in the ways of the world and you dangled in her the images of a handsome boy, a character you created.

“Fifty-two individual payments were taken from her, amounting to $113,300, which was either pocketed by you or distributed to your family members.

“You bombarded her with pictures.”

Justin Jarmola, defending, said Khurram had shown remorse and that while it was “catfishing of a particularly nasty nature”, it was not that sophisticated and did not require as much planning.

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He added that the offense was committed many years ago and the suspect has not committed any offense since then.

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