A 41-year-old woman from Uzbekistan has fallen victim to a large-scale online romance scam, losing a staggering $290,000 to a man she met on the internet.

The suspect - identified as 26-year-old Turkish citizen Ahmad Uzmen - gained the woman’s trust by promising love, marriage, and a happy future together. Their relationship began online, where he quickly built an emotional connection and spoke of plans to start a life as a couple, The Caspian Post reports via Uzbek media.

At first, he convinced her to send $3,500, claiming he needed money to buy furniture for the apartment where they would supposedly live together. Later, he told her he planned to purchase a new house and asked for an additional $30,000.

Then they met in person two months after their initial online contact. The man introduced himself as 35 years old - nearly a decade older than his actual age. Throughout their relationship, he repeatedly asked for money under various pretexts.

By the time the deception unraveled, the woman had transferred a total of $290,000 to the so-called “lover.”