She was the lonely heart from the Illawarra he befriended on Facebook.

Theirs was a match made in cyber heaven – they fell for each other almost instantly.

Or so she thought.

Sarah (not her real name) knew him as Stefan Kelvin Forinton, and within a few short months had become so enamored with her online Romeo that they had planned to marry, despite never having met in person.

Police now claim there was a very good reason for their lack of physical contact.

They allege the man Sarah understood to be Stefan was in fact a 24-year-old Nigerian national named Chidoo Ohad Nukobam, and he was about to swindle her out of a small fortune.

The pair met through social media in August 2014, with police alleging Nukobam charmed Sarah to gain her trust in a short period of time.

Nukobam allegedly cashed in on that trust just three months later, telling Sarah he was in Malaysia buying liquor for his bottle shops without access to his bank accounts and asked her to send him money.

She agreed to, allegedly depositing almost $20,000 into an overseas bank account between November 2014 and March 2015, believing she was helping out her future husband and he would keep good on his promise to pay her back.

Then, on March 10, Nukobam allegedly requested more cash, prompting Sarah to transfer $50,000.

She gave him a further $50,000 in March 16, and another $30,000 on March 20.

In total, Sarah departed with $150,057 in four months.

She later told police that it still took her another two months to realise she had been duped. She then cut all ties with ‘Stefan Forinton’ and reported the matter to authorities.

Court documents reveal Nukobam was arrested on unrelated charges after getting off a flight at Perth International Airport in August 2015.

Officers who interview him claim he admitted to scamming Sarah, saying he had deceived her into thinking they were in a relationship and engaged to be married so she would send him cash.

He also confirmed he had no intention of repaying the money.

He has been in custody since his arrest and will reappear in Wollongong Local Court next month.