AN internet love rat who conned lonely women he met on internet dating sites into handing over nearly £500,000 has been jailed for more than four years.

Nigerian Tosin Femi Olasemo, 27, told a pack of lies by pretending to be an American Army officer serving in Afghanistan to defraud the two victims.

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Olasemo, of Adamstown, Cardiff, created false profiles on the match.com dating website using pictures of US servicemen in uniform to fool the unsuspecting women into handing over cash.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that he convinced the victims to help him pay the costs of organising leave from the war zone - when in fact he just pocketed the cash.

One woman, a 47-year-old widow living in Denmark with her two children, electronically transferred a total of £211,980 to Olasemo after becoming "brainwashed" by his lies.

She was in the process of sending him a further £190,000 when the Danish authorities realised she was being conned and stopped the transfers.

Prosecutor Ruth Smith said the total fraud was valued at around £440,000 and investigations were ongoing in Nigeria to try and recover the money.

"It is the prosecution case he used the online dating site match.com to exploit lonely and vulnerable women by representing dishonestly he was an American soldier based in Afghanistan," she said.

Miss Smith said that Olasemo told the first victim he was Captain Morgan Travis and the second woman his name was Captain Michael Travis and he was based at Camp Joyce in Afghanistan.

Within a few weeks of meeting online, the women would be spending hours daily talking to him on the online Yahoo Messenger chat service and genuinely believed they were in relationships with him.

He told the first victim that "security restrictions" in Afghanistan prevented them using online video conferencing software to see each other.

Olasemo even pretended to be a colleague of Captain Travis to claim the officer had been arrested on suspicion of money laundering and was facing 18 months custody if she did not send more cash, the court heard.

"The content of some of the chats was completely designed to play on her emotional feelings towards Morgan Travis," the prosecutor said.

When the Danish authorities contacted the woman and told her they believed she had been conned, she contacted Olasemo and he told her that he owed "militants" in Nigeria money and they had threatened to kidnap him.

"Unfortunately, she believed the defendant and remained in contact with him for some time until a lady claiming to be the wife of the defendant contacted her after the defendant had sent her a Valentine's Day present in February 2014," Miss Smith said.

The woman later travelled to the UK and when she was contacted again by Olasemo's wife, she reported him to the British police.

Olasemo was arrested at his home in Cardiff and police recovered false US Army ID cards, Nigerian passports and driving licences and £1,100 in cash. He had even downloaded advice on how to talk to women.

After examining a laptop and mobile phones, police traced a second female victim, a Polish divorcee also living in Denmark.

After repeated requests for money she sent him £1,100 but became suspicious and came to the conclusion she had been conned.

"She didn't report him to the police because she didn't think she would be able to recover her money," Miss Smith said. "She describes herself as a victim of psychological manipulation, which is similar to the first victim, who likens herself to being brainwashed by him."

The court also heard details of the first victim's personal statement, in which she described the harm Olasemo had done to her.

"When I was first told I was the victim of a scam I got very upset. At first I cried all the time and I was off work," she said. "I lost a lot of money and the man I thought was my boyfriend. I was terribly ashamed at having been so naive.

"I believed his lies and I felt very lonely. I realised he had wanted me because of my money. I will have to live with the shame of being exploited in the worst possible way for the rest of my life."

At a previous hearing Olasemo, of Moira Street, Adamstown, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to a total of 12 charges, between December 2012 and October 2014.

They were: Four counts of fraud, three of possessing articles for the use in fraud, four of possessing false identity documents with improper intent and one charge of acquiring criminal property.

Gerard Hillman, defending, said his client had a "deep sense of remorse" for his crimes.

"Mr Olasemo wishes through me to apologise for his actions," he added.

Judge Eleri Rees, The Recorder of Cardiff, said Olasemo had told a "tissue of lies" and that the first woman had been the victim of a "sustained campaign of fraud".

"She has written a very powerful account of how being defrauded by you has led her to feeling ashamed and distressed," the judge said.

"The emotional impact may well be far more serious than the financial loss."

He was jailed for a total of four-and-a-half years and faces deportation when he is released from prison, the court heard.

Olasemo, who had originally come to the UK to study postgraduate qualifications, now faces investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective Sergeant Jamie Holcombe, from South Wales Police, said: "This case is an example of how an individual can sit in front of a computer and destroy another person's life.

"Olasemo took advantage of his victims' vulnerabilities and showed no compassion for their significant losses."

The detective added: "As always, we would encourage those using dating sites or other internet forums to be vigilant. Please do not send money or provide personal details to strangers."