A recent inquest revealed the unfortunate death of a widow in Ghana due to a fatal road accident following significant losses of up to £1 million in romance scams. Janet Fordham, 69, sustained fatal injuries during a collision on February 14, 2023, after traveling to Ghana the previous October. The Devon Coroner’s Court disclosed that Mrs. Fordham had been a victim of multiple online scams over a five-year span, resulting in the loss of her home and life savings, estimated at £1 million.
At the time of her trip to Ghana, the retired housekeeper was residing in a caravan at her son Martin and daughter-in-law Melanie Fordham’s home in Honiton, Devon. Mrs. Fordham had started engaging with online dating platforms in 2017 and encountered an individual who claimed to be a British Army sergeant major stationed in Syria, seeking assistance to transport gold bars to the UK. Despite initial skepticism expressed by her family, Mrs. Fordham proceeded to send substantial sums of money to the individual, amounting to approximately £150,000.
Subsequently, Mrs. Fordham fell victim to further deception by a supposed “diplomat” after her UK bank accounts were frozen. The intricate web of deceit involved various money transfer methods, including bank transfers, wire transfers at the post office, and potentially through a travel agent. Her family discovered her ongoing financial transactions, which also involved borrowing money from relatives and cashing in a portion of her pension.
Despite warnings and interventions from her family, Mrs. Fordham’s unwavering belief in the fraudulent schemes led her to travel to Ghana in October 2022 to meet a man named Kofi, whom she was romantically involved with. Detective Sergeant Ben Smith of Devon and Cornwall Police highlighted Mrs. Fordham’s prolonged victimization by fraudsters from 2017 to 2022, resulting in substantial financial losses.
Tragically, Mrs. Fordham passed away in a car accident while traveling with Kofi, who was driving the vehicle. Following the incident, Kofi faced legal repercussions but no evidence suggested third-party involvement in Mrs. Fordham’s demise. The senior coroner for Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay, Philip Spinney, concluded that Mrs. Fordham’s death was a result of a head injury sustained in the road collision, underscoring the extensive financial losses she experienced due to fraudulent activities over the years.