A municipal military police official, Ly Sopheak, told the court that the suspects lived together in a rental house in Chamkar Mon district’s Boeng Tumpon commune.

The pair were arrested on June 11 in Por Senchey district after they allegedly cheated a 34-year-old woman of nearly $4,000.

The police officer said that Mr Nwosu in February created a fake profile using the name “Jerry Snow” and a photo of a foreigner before sending a friend request to the victim.

After the victim and Nwosu began talking, the suspect was said to have told her that he was a US soldier based in Afghanistan and would retire in 2020.

The accused further claimed to have millions of US dollars and wanted to buy a condominium in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, telling her that he wanted to send her money so that she could buy the condo on his behalf before he would visit Cambodia next year.

Sopheak said that on May 15, Nwosu told the victim to contact a transport company in Siem Reap province to retrieve the money he sent for the condo.

The victim was on June 1 required to pay $550 as service fee to access the money Nwosu told her he sent.

On June 4, another $5,300 was demanded from the victim as service fee. The victim negotiated the price down to $3,000 and transferred the amount.

The victim reported to the police after Nwosu called later that day to ask for $4,700 as tax.