The ruse was simple.
Jonathon Lim would drive to a country club, call a friend and ask for help: He was hosting business associates for lunch but had left his wallet in his car and misplaced the keys. Could they urgently lend him S$2,000 to settle the bill?
More often than not, these friends would drive down with the cash. (This was at a time when there were no digital payments.)
After all, they had no reason to doubt him. Jonathon was the owner of a mid-sized real estate agency. He was a country club member. He drove a Mercedes S300. He dressed and looked the part of a man with success.
But what they did not know was that there was no business lunch. Every dollar went straight into his gambling addiction that would consume…