Five persons were arrested in a case of ‘romance fraud,’ the police said.

The suspects – four Nigerian men and a Maltese woman – were arrested after months of investigations by the Paola Police and the Anti-money laundering squad.

The group posed as an American soldier serving in Afghanistan, befriending an elderly woman and entering into a virtual relationship with her, the police said.

Believing the soldier’s promise to come to Malta at the end of his deployment, the woman sent thousands of euro in online transactions so that he could pay for his expenses.

The fraud operation was carried out from Malta, with money going into several bank accounts. The money would be withdrawn from the accounts in order to be laundered.

The suspects were identified in the past few hours. Their ages vary from 28 to 58. The are expected to be arraigned later today, at around 9pm, before Magistrate Doreen Clarke.

This is the first ‘romance fraud’ case to ever be prosecuted in Malta.

The prosecution will be led by lawyers Karl Muscat, Sean Xerri de Caro and Abigail Caruana Vella from the Office of the Attorney General, together with Inspectors Sarah Zerafa and Claire Borg.