Conman jailed 14 months for multiple scams involving $55,000
A serial conman who scammed multiple victims including Singtel was jailed for 14 months on Friday (8 January).
Ronny Lee Jia Jie, 21, had earlier pleaded guilty to a total of 19 cheating charges and one count of attempted cheating involving some $55,500.
Cheated Singtel, Carousell users
In November 2014, Lee was involved in volunteer work in a brisk walking event organised by Nee Soon East Community Centre. He was given a list of event participants to mark their attendance. It contained their names and NRIC numbers.
Between November and December 2014, Lee used those particulars and made a total of 49 applications for mobile lines on the Singtel website. But he cancelled 21 applications out of guilt.
Still, Lee deceived the telco into delivering him 28 mobile phones worth $30,152. He later sold some of the phones for cash.
Between July 2015 and May 2017, Lee scammed 11 victims of $2,486 via online marketplace Carousell. He would post advertisements claiming that he could provide various goods and services for a fee, including sports apparel, concert tickets, and even booking of Aloha Changi resort units.
But Lee never had the intention nor the capacity to procure and deliver those items. After buyers agreed on the price of the items, and transferred either the full sum or a deposit into his various bank accounts, Lee became uncontactable.
In June 2016, Lee cheated three victims of a total of $820 via bogus investment scams. In one instance, Lee tricked a former schoolmate into investing $300 in a fictitious company, after he promised him a return of US$11 million in six months and US$450 million in the next six months thereafter.
In late 2016, Lee also cheated a courier company of $518.10.
Cheated cosmetics retailer
In April last year, after Lee had pleaded guilty to 16 cheating charges and was awaiting sentence, yet another victim made a police report about him.
In March last year, Lee offered to be a product distributor to an online cosmetics and toiletries seller.
On two occasions that month, he collected products worth $5,344 from her. These included shampoo, shower gels, cleansers, collagen jelly, sunscreen sprays, lipsticks and foundation cream.
Lee would send screenshots of purported bank transfers to deceive the seller that he had made payments before collecting the products from her.
The next month, Lee tried to order another $15,546 worth of toiletries and cosmetic products from the seller. But the seller saw through his ruse after realising there had been no bank transfers made for the products and she filed a police report.
In March last year, Lee also cheated a printing company of $668.75.
For each of his 19 proceeded cheating charges and one count of attempted cheating, Lee could have been jailed for up to 10 years along with a fine.
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