Take the money and run: How one Ontario man bilked women out of $1M in romance scams

For anyone dating, remarrying later in life or simply combining finances with a partner, the Durham case is a useful — if unsettling — guide to what to look out for.

What Durham police allege happened

Durham’s Financial Crimes Unit opened its investigation, dubbed Project Maroon, in November 2025 after a victim came forward. Investigators allege the fraud began in 2020 and ran for five years, ultimately impacting five women.

Police claim Malandrino built each relationship slowly, presenting himself as a successful entrepreneur before asking for money for “investments, loans, business opportunities and personal financial emergencies,” according to reporting on the case. In some instances, investigators say he used money from one alleged victim to make payments to another — a pattern that let the deception continue longer than a single relationship could have sustained on its own.

Malandrino was arrested in Ajax on August 31 and faces five counts of fraud over $5,000, plus charges of laundering and possessing proceeds of crime, breaching release conditions and uttering a forged document. Police say they believe there may be more victims.

The ‘it only happens online’ assumption doesn’t hold up

It’s tempting to assume romance fraud is a dating-app risk you can avoid by staying off Tinder or Bumble. The Durham case shows why that assumption is dangerous: the alleged relationships started at a gym and a dog training business — ordinary, in-person places where trust builds gradually and skepticism naturally fades.

Incremental trust-building and fading skepticism are the actual mechanisms of romance fraud, no matter where a relationship starts. CAFC data backs this up: romance fraud consistently produces one of the highest average dollar losses per victim of any fraud type it tracks, because it typically plays out over months or years, not a single transaction.

The financial red flags to watch for

Financial exploitation in a relationship rarely announces itself. A few patterns worth treating as pause-and-verify moments:

• The ask is urgent and framed as temporary — a “business opportunity,” “cash flow problem” or “legal emergency” that needs your money today, with a promise of repayment soon
• The relationship and the request for money move at the same pace — declarations of love or commitment arrive close together with requests for loans, investments or access to your accounts
• You’re asked to keep the help hidden from family, friends or a financial advisor
• Money flows in one direction, especially through e-transfer, wire transfer or cryptocurrency, which are harder to trace or reverse than a cheque
• Explanations don’t hold up to a basic background check — a business, job title or investment opportunity that can’t be verified through a public registry, LinkedIn or a simple search

What to do before you send money to a partner

If any of the above sounds familiar, here is how to limit the financial damage:

A quick checklist

• Keep your finances separate until trust has a paper trail, not just a story — separate accounts, no joint credit, no cosigning
• Treat any “investment” pitch from a partner like you would from a stranger — verify registration with your provincial securities regulator before sending money
• Never wire money or send crypto to someone you haven’t independently verified, even if the relationship feels established
• Talk to someone outside the relationship — a friend, family member or financial advisor — before making a large transfer
• If you’ve already sent money and something feels off, contact your bank immediately, then report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501

The bottom line

The Durham case is still before the courts, and the allegations remain unproven. But the pattern police describe — trust built in person, over years, before money enters the picture — is exactly why romance fraud is so hard to catch from the inside. The safest habit in a new relationship isn’t suspicion; it’s keeping your money, accounts and major decisions separate until trust has had real time, and real verification, to prove itself.