An Auckland woman accused of swindling an unsuspecting Dunedin man out of half a million dollars through an "elaborate" romance scam spanning 18 years has appeared in court.
Police alleged the woman, a 44-year-old from Ellerslie, ran the online scam for 18 years, from 2006 until 2024.
Over that time, she managed to obtain $517,487 from the "unsuspecting" man, according to the three charges of obtaining by deception lodged with the court.
Officers raided an Auckland address last week with assistance from the Auckland City Financial Crime Unit.
Appearing in the Auckland District Court today, Judge Belinda Sellars, KC, granted the woman interim name suppression.
She was remanded on bail and was expected to enter a plea at her next appearance in March.
Earlier, acting Detective Senior Sergeant Ali Ramsay said it was often difficult to arrest romance scammers as many were based offshore.
"At the very heart of this are victims whose good nature is taken advantage of, causing emotional and financial stress."
Police issued a reminder to the public to be "extremely cautious when meeting new people online or through dating applications".
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