A 71-year-old bachelor uncle from Italy, looking for Galle medical student 'Thikshani Pramodya' in a phone shop

A seventy-one-year-old married man, who had been working in Italy for twenty-five years, set foot in Sri Lanka on the 25th, filled with new hopes. His hope was to live in the same house with a medical student he had met through social media, who claimed to reside in the Wanduramba area of Galle.

However, from the moment he arrived in the country, the young woman's mobile phone was switched off. Despite numerous attempts, when he couldn't reach her, this individual, a resident of Wennappuwa, realized that he had fallen victim to a massive fraud.

His real girlfriend was not a medical student. She was not even a woman. For several months, the person who chatted with him romantically and received money was a twenty-one-year-old young man working at a mobile phone shop. This organized money fraud was carried out through a virtual world created using artificial intelligence (AI) and digital software.

A few months ago, the main suspect, who created this fake persona through social media, claimed to be a medical student named 'Thikshani Pramodya'. By stating that only he and his mother were in the family and that they lived in a very small house, he managed to win the sympathy of the man in Italy. To establish trust, he sent photos of a medical student dressed in uniform, created with artificial intelligence (AI), as well as ordinary photos. Even more subtly, this young man used special software to chat with him in a female voice.

The man, deceived by these conversations and artificial photos, transferred over eighteen lakhs of rupees to four bank accounts on several occasions as a form of assistance to her. In addition, a consignment of goods was also sent to the country on two occasions.

Following a complaint received by the Galle Police regarding the fraud, officers launched a comprehensive investigation through the relevant bank accounts. It was revealed that the suspect young man had initially maintained three bank accounts, and later, in collaboration with the owner of the mobile phone shop where he worked, opened a joint account and fraudulently transferred money into that account as well.

Under the instructions of Galle Senior Superintendent of Police S.K.S. Rupasinghe, the two suspects were arrested by Chief Police Inspector G.V. Jayasiri, OIC of the Special Crimes Investigation Division, Sub-Inspector Premakumara, and Sergeant Aruna (73009).

The arrested suspects were produced before Galle Magistrate Sameera Dodangoda on the 28th. There, the Magistrate ordered the main suspect, 21-year-old Ovitigala Vithanage Thikshana Pramodya, who defrauded money by impersonating a female character using artificial intelligence, to be remanded until the 12th of next month.

The 24-year-old suspect, Imaduwa Vithanage Dimuthu Sampath, owner of the mobile phone shop, who was arrested for aiding and abetting this crime, was further ordered by the court to be released on two personal bails of five lakhs rupees each.