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To: StocksDATsoar who wrote (121318)	10/21/2003 11:19:55 AM
From: StockDung	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 150070

'Kissme' Carol admits internet fraud 21 October 2003 A woman who preyed on lonely single men in internet chatrooms defrauded two of them of nearly $500,000, Christchurch District Court was told yesterday. Carol Elaine Teika, 40, adopted the user name "Kissme" when she befriended men over the internet, claimed to be a model, and forwarded nude photos of herself. The men who responded were asked for loans to bide her over while she waited for payouts from ACC claims and property sales. Prosecutor Jane Farish told the court yesterday the reality was that Teika was a bankrupt mother from Kaiapoi who had not worked for 18 years. A part-time cleaner from Hamilton lent her money after being told Teika was to get a $750,000 ACC payment. "She maintained this deception by having other people ring and hold themselves out to be her solicitor or ACC case worker," Ms Farish said. He began lending Teika modest sums. But when he became anxious as the promises of repayment came to nothing, she managed to wrangle even more by claiming she was being threatened with bankruptcy and he would lose everything unless he paid off her creditors. Later payments for $28,700 and $45,000, were made by cashing in insurance policies. By the time the fraud ended, he had lent Teika $124,750 and got nothing back. Ms Farish said that by then Teika had begun an internet relationship with a New Plymouth farmer she met in a chatroom. "Teika maintained the relationship by phone and by the internet and again maintained that she required amounts of money for fines or specialist medical bills," Ms Farish said. "(The farmer) agree to loan the money on the basis that she had money to repay the loan. She maintained she had $120,000 equity in the address in Kaiapoi, $62,000 in a holiday home in Oaro, and $200,000 in an ACC payment. "She had other people ring (the farmer) and hold themselves out to be her ACC case worker or solicitor." In total the farmer forwarded Teika $347,775, none of which was recovered. When the police investigated, Teika said she used about $50,000 "then gave the remaining amount of money away", Ms Farish said. "There is absolutely no prospect of making a reparation order," she said. Teika was due to stand trial yesterday on charges of fraud and conspiracy to defraud. But as the jury panel assembled ready for the trial, she pleaded guilty to 126 charges of fraud and conspiracy to defraud. Judge Stephen Erber was told Teika had previous criminal convictions and he entered the new convictions on her record. He said although he considered it was inescapable that she would have been found guilty at trial, she would get significant credit for sparing the Crown and her victims the cost of a lengthy trial. Even so, he said a prison term would be the inevitable penalty and remanded her in custody for sentence.