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John Rousakis was lovestruck and fell head over heels for a stunning brunette online, only to be tricked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He met so-called Canadian nurse "Ester Anderson" on a dating site and they enjoyed daily chats for 12 months.
According to Mirror, the picture he was sent or "Esther" is a fake.
Her cries for help and wild tales of being jailed for smuggling gold were total claptrap. Each time Esther asked for help, John transferred money from his account, even believing he would become the owner of two 12.03kg gold bars worth $1.5 million.
John 43, took out loans to give Ester and even borrowed money from his father. He was sent receipts for the gold, but it was entirely fictional.
John, who has an IQ of over 135 and a masters degree in engineering and robotics, fell for Ester after meeting her on match.com. The romance intensified over text messages and FaceTime, Esther told John she would move to Lincoln to be with him. She needed money for food monthly and claimed to desperate. John felt bad and sent the money. He was sucked in by the pictures.
Next she needed money because she was in jail. John took out four loans and was in debt over the course of time with Ester. It was a all a scam has wrecked his mental health.
John always thought he was going to be paid back but saw nothing in return. Ester just disappeared.
John's bank was also to blame and claimed partial liability. The bank did not pay the full amount because it said the initial outgoing funds were small and did not raise concerns. It was only when a large amount was sent that the bank admitted it failed in its duty of care to warn John he could be a victim.
"This is a tragic case of a romance scam and we have every sympathy for our customer." said a bank spokesperson.