A charity worker, Paul Tuba Mika, conned a wealthy woman living in the upmarket Auckland suburb of Herne Bay, into believing he was a cancer-cure guinea pig in a bid to scam millions of dollars from her. He met her in 2003 when he was collecting donations for recognised charities and told her that he had lost everything, his wife and son had died, and that he was donating his body to science in an experimental cancer treatment. He needed money, he claimed, to pay for airfares to Australia and medical bills – and his 78-year-old target gave him $2.4 million over seven years.
His “doctor” would even call her to give progress reports. But there was no cancer treatment and no doctor.
Mika has pleaded guilty to eight fraud charges, which each carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison. The 55-year-old will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court next month.
Full story: Cancer-cure conman cheats wealthy widow http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10716591
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