German Woman Deceived by American Boyfriend, Loses Billions in Bali Property Investment
MANGUPURA, NusaBali.com – Katrin Tochterman, a German national, has fallen victim to a scam orchestrated by her boyfriend, TCA, an American citizen. Katrin suffered a massive financial loss amounting to billions of rupiah due to a fraudulent property investment scheme in Bali.
Initially, the 30-year-old German beauty was in a romantic relationship with TCA. He persuaded her to invest in Bali's property market, promising significant returns. Enticed by the prospect, Katrin handed over her inheritance money from her grandfather to fund the business.
However, the reality did not match the expectations. The profit distribution from the properties ceased. "The returns from one property were given initially, but they have now stopped. Meanwhile, the returns from three other properties have never been provided," said Esther Hariandja, Katrin Tochterman’s legal representative, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.
Recently, TCA blocked all contact with Katrin and moved on to another woman. Faced with this situation, Katrin could only lament her fate as there was no written investment agreement with TCA. "During the investment collaboration, it was the Covid-19 pandemic, which was used as an excuse for the lack of a written agreement," Esther explained.
Despite the absence of notarized deeds or other written agreements, Esther mentioned that there are transaction records, WhatsApp messages, and emails regarding the collaboration between the two foreign nationals.
"Based on the investment agreement, the villa management was to be a joint venture with a 50:50 profit split for three properties and 100% for one property, which was supposed to be provided monthly to our client," Esther elaborated.
Instead, Katrin was evicted from the jointly managed villa and threatened by TCA. "I do not come from a wealthy family. I inherited money from my grandfather and worked hard to save. The money I invested should have been a down payment for buying a house, but I wanted to achieve something meaningful," Katrin stated.
She expressed her deep love for Indonesia, its people, and its culture, which motivated her to help her boyfriend in the Bali property business. "Everything I did was based on trust and love. And he took advantage of that," lamented Katrin Tochterman.
The case was reported to the Badung Police on Tuesday afternoon, May 28, 2024, and a report is also planned to be filed with the Bali Regional Police on Wednesday, May 29, 2024. "We are filing both criminal and civil charges after our legal notice was ignored, along with evidence of money transfers from our client for this property business and the false promises of profits," stated Esther.
Furthermore, Esther revealed that TCA also borrowed funds from Katrin’s father for business development without her knowledge and failed to repay the debt.
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