Man dreaming of marriage defrauded: 120,000 TL scam by 'fake bride' gang
A resident of Diyarbakır, who traveled to Iğdır with the promise of marriage upon a relative's recommendation, was swindled out of a total of 120,000 Turkish Lira, including a 70,000 lira dowry and various expenses, by a 'fake bride' gang.
İHA
Mehmet Nezir Çelik (45), who lost his wife 3 years ago in Diyarbakır, decided to remarry. On January 16, through the mediation of a relative named Ali in Elazığ, Çelik rented a commercial vehicle for 14,000 TL and traveled to Iğdır with another intermediary named Fadıl, who resided in Van. A woman named D.K. (34), living in the center of Iğdır, told Çelik that her husband had died in a traffic accident and that she was currently a widow. D.K. then, along with a man she introduced as her brother, Murat, demanded a dowry of 100,000 TL from Çelik.
When Nezir Çelik told the intermediaries that 100,000 TL for the dowry was too much and that he wanted to lower it to 70,000 TL, the money was handed over to the man named Murat in the presence of the intermediaries. After performing a religious marriage ceremony with Dilek, Çelik returned to Diyarbakır with her on the same day. D.K., who stayed in the same house as Çelik, bought herself earrings and a ring worth 21,000 liras and clothes worth 10,000 TL at a jewelry store in the Bağlar district on the morning of the second day. The moments when Çelik and she looked at rings and earrings together at the jeweler were captured on security cameras.
Explaining the incident he experienced from beginning to end, Çelik said:
“I reside in the Fabrika neighborhood of the Yenişehir district in Diyarbakır. I have one child. My wife passed away in 2021. I thought about marrying someone again so that my child wouldn't be left alone and so that a hot meal would be cooked in our home. A friend of mine named Ali in Elazığ told me that they had found a girl in Iğdır through an intermediary named Fadıl in Van. We rented a vehicle from Diyarbakır and went to Van, then to Ağrı, and finally to Iğdır. There, we met Dilek K. (34). Beside Dilek was someone she introduced as her ‘brother,’ Murat. After we met and got to know each other, they asked me for a 100,000 TL dowry. When I said this amount was too high, they lowered the dowry to 70,000 TL. I gave the money to the brother she introduced as Murat. After we reached an agreement, we performed a religious marriage in Iğdır. On January 16, I brought Dilek to Diyarbakır. Dilek stayed at our house in Diyarbakır for 3 days.”
“I CAUGHT DILEK AT THE LAST MOMENT AS SHE WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE HOUSE”
Stating that Dilek K. tried to escape around 23:00 on January 18 and that he caught her on the side of the road at the last moment, Çelik said, “While Dilek was with us, I went out on the morning of the second day and bought her a ring, earrings, and clothes. Later, on the evening of January 18, around 23:00, Dilek tried to run away from the house. I went out and caught her right on the road and brought her back home. On Thursday, I called Ali to my house. He asked Dilek, ‘Why are you running away?’ Dilek stated that she had family problems. Ali said, ‘If you had family problems, why didn't you say so there?’ I said the same thing and added, ‘If I had known you had family problems, I wouldn't have brought you to Diyarbakır.’ We realized that they were defrauding us. On the morning of January 19, around 11:00, the police came to our door. They took Dilek and took us all to the police station. The police told me that Dilek was married and had two children. Afterward, they asked me to go to the place where I had given the money and to the person I had given it to. I had given the money to the person named Murat, whom Dilek introduced as her ‘brother.’ In this situation, I became a victim. They defrauded me,” he said.
APPROXIMATELY 120,000 TL VANISHED
Stating that he gave 70,000 TL for the dowry, 21,000 TL for earrings and gold, 10,000 TL for clothing, 14,000 TL for the commercial taxi, and 3,600 TL to the intermediaries, Çelik said, "I became fully convinced that they had defrauded me when my friend reached someone with the same surname on social media. We contacted someone named Hakan. He resided in Osmaniye. He said that his sister's name was Dilek and that they had disowned Dilek for 3 years. Please, let our state authorities catch this fraud gang. I have filed a complaint with the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. I mean, I had borrowed all of this money. 70,000 TL for the dowry, 10,000 TL for Dilek's clothes, 21,000 TL for earrings and a ring, 14,000 TL to rent a commercial taxi to go to Iğdır, and I gave 3,600 TL to the intermediaries. I never knew something like this would happen to me. Right now, I can't go anywhere from the house. My pride has been toyed with. Everyone is making fun of us," he said.