21 March 2023 , 15:23
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A man dubbed the "Russian Tinder Swindler" has been arrested for allegedly conning 300 women out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Dmitry Frolov, 42, was captured by police on March 1 after a tip-off from a 31-year-old woman who claims to be one of his victims.
Investigators believe Frolov had been travelling around Russia using false names and documents for more than 10 years.
They say he lived a life of luxury after conning an estimated 300 women out of tens of millions of rubles.
He has now been dubbed the Russian Tinder Swindler after romance fraudster Simon Leviev, who became the subject of a Netflix true crime documentary after scamming women out of millions of dollars.
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Alleged victim Alina Milennaya (Newsflash)Frolov is active on Tinder, where his biography reads: "Tired of being alone. Looking for a family. Running my small business."
According to Russian media, he played the part of "the cute and caring chubby guy" to seduce women through the dating app.
One of his alleged victims is 35-year-old beauty salon owner Alina Milennaya from Volgograd in southwest Russia.
Frolov allegedly conned Alina out of her three-room apartment, her only car, and a loan of ₽500,000 (£5,300).
She told Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda: "His secret is in his self-confidence. He understands what a woman wants, what her priorities are.
"If there's a child, he finds a way to connect with them. He identifies weaknesses and targets them.
"He's also very intellectually developed, polite, courteous, and well-mannered. He convinced me that as a businesswoman I needed a premium-class car and persuaded me to sell my old one.
Alina pictured with Frolov (Newsflash)"Then he convinced me that I needed to think about my little daughter's future and buy a bigger apartment and put it in her name.
"That's how I lost six million rubles (£64,000) and ended up practically on the street with a crying child in my arms."
She added: "He was already so brazen that he thought he could get away with anything.
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"He even deceived those who had no money, and women took out loans for him. He fooled the relatives of his mistresses. He enjoyed it, it gave him an adrenaline rush."
Another alleged victim, 50-year-old Alexandra Peskova from Moscow, told the daily tabloid newspaper: "I talked to him longer than anyone else.
"He worked on me for over two years. He suggested we build a joint business. I almost sold our family home near Moscow because of this.
Alexandra Peskova said Frolov even sent her on holiday at his expense (Newsflash)"He convinced me to give him my Solaris car so that he could eventually buy a big all-wheel-drive vehicle for transporting goods.
"He's a very subtle psychologist. If a woman had any doubts, he would immediately give her gifts and shower her with compliments. For example, he sent me on holiday at his expense.
"I had an illusion that he was generous, although in reality, he was simultaneously spending my ₽400,000 (£4,200) that I received from selling the car."
Investigators say Frolov spent the money he stole from victims on renting expensive country houses and hiring chauffeurs - who were not paid for their work - to drive him and his mistresses around in luxury cars.
A couple of months into his relationships with victims, he would hint at marriage, joint business ventures, or buying a home.
Frolov's most recent victim, who preferred to remain anonymous, met him through Tinder.
After just a couple of dates, she agreed to sell her modest car so he could buy her a more luxurious one.
Some of the victims of the Russian Tinder Swindler (Newsflash)But Frolov allegedly kept ₽590,000 (£6,300) from the sale for himself and fled to the Moscow suburbs.
The single mother immediately reported him to the police, who later tracked him down and detained him in a cottage in the village of Novinki.
Investigators found that Frolov hails from a small town called Alexandrov, in Vladimir Oblast. He has previous convictions for theft and fraud dating to the 2000s.
He reportedly confessed: "Until 2004, I was married to a woman, and we had a son. But I don't even remember his birthday. I was deprived of parental rights.
"I change my place of residence every day. And names, and car numbers, and documents."
Authorities have charged him with fraud, and he could face up to six years behind bars if convicted. At the time of writing, he remained in custody.
Local media report that he hopes his story will soon be adapted into a film.