Fake Sultan Deceived 17 Women with Promises of Home Renovation

Police have arrested a man named Nurhadi Sulistya (46) for defrauding a number of women, convincing them to demolish their homes. The perpetrator pretended he intended to marry the victims, luring them with promises of building a new house. The latest victim is a resident of Garut.

The scam perpetrated by the man from Ciamis shocked the public after the victim reported it to the police late last week. According to Banjarwangi Police Chief Ipda Ipar Suparlan, the incident began when Nurhadi became acquainted with Mimin (46), a resident of Banjarwangi, through Facebook.

“After establishing communication via social media, last week the suspect came to meet the victim’s family in Banjarwangi with the intention of proposing to the victim,” Ipar stated.

Ipar explained that when meeting Mimin’s family, Nurhadi claimed to be an architect and project contractor. Not only did he intend to propose to Mimin, who is a widow, but Nurhadi also claimed he would build a new house for the victim’s family.

Initially, nothing about Nurhadi aroused suspicion. The family became more trusting after the suspect took one of the victim’s relatives to shop for materials at a building supply store. The value was quite staggering, reaching Rp 113 million according to witness statements to the police.

This is where suspicion began to arise. Ipar said that after the victim’s family had demolished their old house for renovation, they attempted to collect the building materials from the store. However, it turned out the materials had not been paid for by Nurhadi.

“Because they were suspicious, the victim’s family then reported this suspected fraud to us. Our Criminal Investigation Unit personnel then went to the location and detained the suspect,” Ipar stated.

After Nurhadi was arrested, the Banjarwangi Police transferred the case to the Garut Police. New facts emerged from the interrogation by Garut Police Criminal Investigation Unit personnel.

“According to the suspect’s statement, the suspect committed fraud 17 times using a nearly similar modus operandi,” said Garut Police Public Relations Head Ipda Susilo Adi.

Nurhadi’s main motive for these actions is still being investigated by the police. However, based on preliminary investigation results, Adi said the suspect is believed to have merely wanted to live off and eat for free at his victims’ homes.

“The investigation also revealed that the suspect is not an architect or contractor by profession, but rather a janitor,” Adi stated.