Scam Victims Story - Gerald Allen

A reader recently sent us their story dealing with a Nigerian scammer going by the name of Gerald Allen:
I live in Spain and was contacted August 2009 by a man who said that he was an American/Canadian following my dating advert in germansingles He told me that he was about 51 years old, divorced with an 11 year old daughter, that he was an freelance geologist after having worked as such for many years for Halleburton. At the time of the initial contact he said that he was in London tendering for a contract in Scotland and Norway. As he didn´t get these contracts he then, so he told me, obtained a contract in Nigeria solving an oil spillage. After about 6 weeks of chatting online via Messenger he became very affectionate and declared his love for me and that he wanted to meet me. After about 2 months of having regular online contact he told me that he had left his briefcase with his passport, all his money, credit cards etc. in a taxi travelling from the site and he then asked me to help him out financially which I did. This was followed by a variety of other sob stories which ended in my sending him more money. He sounded always very convincing and although I did have doubts unfortunately I always gave him the benefit of the doubt. I sent him money to leave Nigeria and he said that he was then in London. I tried to meet him in the U.K. 3 times whilst over there but each time something happened as to why he could not meet me. He continued chatting to me for over one year more via messenger. During that time I did not send him more money although from time to time I received more sob stories. Just recently I asked him to come to Spain and e-mailed a Ryanair boarding pass to him. (I had a copy of his "American passport" which was a fake). Needless to say he did not turn up. He told me that at the Ryanair Visa check desk he had been asked for a malaria vaccination certificate (He said that he contracted malaria whilst in Nigeria) which he said cost Pound Sterling 360.--. I checked this out with Ryanair and received confirmation from them in writing that this was not required. I challenged him on this and he eventually admitted that he was actually a Nigerian/South African with a mixed colour Nigerian father and a white South African mother. He asked my forgiveness and told me that he was ashamed of what he had done to me. All in all he conned me out of Euros 20,000.- which he said that he would repay bit by bit. He said that he had not spent all this money but invested it in shares. He also begged me not to report him to the police. He wanted to turn over a new leaf and make something of himself. I don´t believe that this is true and that he will continue conning women out of money. His e-mail address is geraldall@hotmail.com and geraldald@yahoo.com
geraldallen@yahoo.com

his mobile phone no. is 00447035906915 (previously 004470457029 and whilst in Nigeria 2347030884045)

his "Canadian mother´s" phone no. 17802375213 and her e-mail address maryavilla@hotmail.com and his "daughter´s Kimberley" kimberlygrd@hotmail.com

I checked his "mother´s and daughter´s" e-mail out by sending a greeting card via 123greetings which were returned.

Since then he has admitted that he does not have any children and is single.

He told me that his present address in London is 23 Bethel Drive, Newham, London E138BN.

He admitted that the initial 2 photos he sent me were somebody else but the subsequent ones were him (the last 2 were not that different from the initial ones but his "American passport" photo was quite different. (I had asked him for a copy of his passport before sending him more money about 1 year ago getting him out of Nigeria by making up a bit of a story).