The World's Most Complex Catfishing Scam | Investigators
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Published 2022-04-04
At the centre of this story is radio host Kirat Assi who received a Facebook message in 2009 from a handsome cardiologist called Bobby. Kirat was slowly reeled into Bobby’s world and eventually duped into an intimate relationship with him. She was manipulated, coerced and tricked, she lost friends and her career.
When the scam fell apart in 2018, the catfisher was someone Kirat was not expecting. Alexi Mostrous and Claudia Williams from Tortoise Media ask why the police didn’t take the case seriously and was a crime actually committed?
If you think you may be in an abusive relationship, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit their website, thehotline.org. For the UK call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night.
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All Comments (21)
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WATCH NEXT: Exposing the Cult Leader Who Beats Her Captives - https://youtu.be/Nd_7meGoyGs
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Her cousin needs to be put on a watch list. She’s terrifying
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Her cousin wasted 8 years of her time. She must be insane.
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worth updating this - In 2020, Kirat Assi successfully won a “substantial settlement” in a civil case against Simran Bhogal for “harassment, misuse of private information, and data protection breaches”, according to the Guardian. However, a criminal case has yet to be brought against Bhogal, as catfishing is not a criminal offence in the UK.
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A simple video call would have saved her 10 years.
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I kept waiting for the money aspect to be introduced, like “Bobby” would start asking her to help with med bills…but no. REDACTED was doing this 100% to mess up her life? It’s pure evil.
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So strange... catfished by your cousin pretending to be your boyfriend and multiple other people? Blows my mind how someone has the time and live a normal life like she seemingly had
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I feel so sorry for Kirat, her cousin is clearly sick and definitely needs investigating because there is a possibility she could do this again to some other unsuspecting person!
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I experienced something eerily similar, by my brother's girlfriend, from the ages of 16-19 (she was 22-26). When the truth was exposed my brother married her. I haven't spoken to either of them since. It's hard to explain what a terrible, evil, and cruel plot this is, and the width and breadth of the impacts. The other terrible thing is that there's nothing specifically illegal about it.
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It's insane that she met the real Bobby early on, and the precise circumstances allowed it to keep going for years.
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Catfishing should be added to identity theft crime and the victims aren’t just those who the identity is stolen - but those that they target.
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As someone who has been stalked and catfished by a family member I can understand how this woman feels. That kind of thing is seriously damaging and will give you trust issues for the rest of your life. People are so terrible. 🐳
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There 1000% needs to be new laws in place for crimes like these,I couldn’t imagine the emotional toll it has had on her and this one interaction with “bobby” has now completely altered her life. If that isn’t considered a crime and her cousin isn’t held accountable then I don’t know what is
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This is horrendous. She literally stole a decade from her. I hope she gets done for emotional abuse. It's really really brave to come on vice and tell her story
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I wonder if she’s looked into civil prosecution instead of criminal. This is a clear case of intentional infliction of emotional distress and she’s got plenty of evidence to support it.
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You need to listen to the entirety of all the episodes of the podcast. It’s mind-blowing. They had intimate phone calls during those 10 years. The families on both sides are humiliated in their community. The victims are widespread.
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I think one of the worst effects that come from being duped for so long is how one would blame themselves, feel like it's their own fault and question their ability to make any sort of judgements or decisions. One would look back and remember all of the red flags that they missed or ignored and chastise themselves. And one may not feel comfortable entering into any type of new relationship because they cannot trust themselves or their own emotions or believe that anything could be real.
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I swear if this went any longer I would've made a run to the store to get popcorn. Ten years?!?!?! There's absolutely no way in hell I'd be talking to someone online for 10 years without seeing them in person.
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I get the feeling that Simran had an internal competition/rivalry/envy going on with her cousin that she never externalized. But it was probably egged on by family. Like Kirat is such a good girl, and why can’t you be more like Kirat. And so she created this character to gain control over her cousin and essentially ruin her life, and that way keep the cousin hierarchy in her favor.
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She said "if you're targeted you have no hope" uhhh yes, we have hope. Anyone in their right mind would know not to give 10 years of your time without seeing the person. How are you in a relationship with someone you've never seen in person or on video chat? 🤦🏾♀️
