A fraudster who convinced a woman to loan him more than £15,000 after meeting her on a dating website has been jailed.

Mohamad Yousef, 37, of Loxwood Road has been sentenced to 18 months in jail on Wednesday (July 10) at Wood Green Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud.

He convinced a 30-year-old victim he met on a well-known dating site to loan him £15,000, Met Police said.

Mr Yousef met the victim back in May 2017 and told her he was a 33-year-old doctor and sent her a picture of him wearing his hospital scrubs.

The relationship progressed quickly and they became engaged within a month.

At the end of May 2017, he convinced the victim to loan him some money as he was short of cash for their wedding – said to be arranged at Dorchester Hotel.

She transferred £800 to his bank account. He later convinced her to take out a loan of £15,000 to cover the cost of their wedding.

But once he received the money, he broke off all contact and the victim could not reach him.

She contacted the hospital where he claimed to work but they had no knowledge of him. She called the Dorchester Hotel and no booking had been made.

Mr Yousef was recorded as a wanted man on the Police National Computer and in September 13, 2017 he was arrested at Heathrow when he landed on a flight from Africa.

He claimed the victim took the loan out against his wish but still accepted the money into his account.

He said he received more than £14,000 from the loan but only had £6,000 left after spending the rest on an emergency as his father was not well.

Mr Yousef said the photo of him wearing hospital scrubs was taken when he was doing voluntary work with Oxfam, providing vaccinations. His actual occupation was a mini-cab controller.

Detective Sergeant Milan Pandya, said: “It is so important that anyone scammed by online fraudsters comes forward so that we can make a start in putting a stop to their activities.

“Victims should absolutely not be embarrassed. These unscrupulous people are convincing and tenacious in their deceptions.

“Please don’t hesitate to contact police if you have been a victim of this crime – at the very least contact us to ensure that you receive any support that you may need.”