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'too terrified to sleep'
Love Island’s Georgia Steel claims conman boyfriend has stolen her money leaving her fearing for her life
The star has had 'tens of thousands of pounds' stolen and fears her fraudster ex is to blame
LOVE Island star Georgia Steel claims she has had “tens of thousands of pounds” stolen from her bank accounts and fears her fraudster ex-lover is to blame, The Sun Online can reveal.
The reality TV star said she is now “too terrified to sleep and fearing for her life” after discovering the “huge sum of money” missing and her ex-footballer boyfriend allegedly nowhere to be seen.
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She told The Sun Online's Big Interview: “It's an ongoing investigation with the police at the moment.”
Georgia, who rocketed to fame in the fourth series of the hit ITV2 show last year, began dating a man she thought was a wealthy American called Miguel.
They met in a nightclub and began chatting, before he asked her out for dinner – beginning a six-week long whirlwind romance.
Georgia said: “We went to the birthday party and he met all of my family and friends. I was introducing him as my boyfriend.
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“My parents really believed he was this man who was looking after me. I'm 21 and a young girl to be living in a city on her own.”
The TV star’s world came crumbling down when The Sun Online revealed last week her new lover was in fact convicted fraudster Medi Abalimba.
The one-time Derby County player was jailed in 2014 for pretending to be ex-Chelsea footballer Gael Kakuta.
He would break into lockers at a private health club to steal credit card details before splurging on designer clothes and five-star hotels.
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He also splashed out on champagne in trendy London nightclubs and once duped staff into running up a £25,000 bar tab - claiming he was a “Premier League star and good for the money”.
Georgia, 21, said he was lying in bed next to her when she decided to confront him over who he really was.
She said: “He told me he had to change his name when he got out of prison because he didn't want it to affect him.
“He told me he'd done bad things but that he really liked me and wanted to change.”
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Breaking down in tears, Georgia added: “Because I'm a good person, if I see a broken person or a person upset, I really like to fix it.
“I thought I could fix him and accept his past and everything. But I didn't understand how bad his past was.
“I had no idea of how capable he was, because I would never be with someone who could hurt people like that. The stories kept coming out and things kept getting worse.”
But just a day later, Georgia logged on to her bank and says she discovered “tens of thousands of pounds” had gone missing.
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She said: “I went on my online banking and I noticed a drastic amount had just gone. I was in my flat and I've never been in a situation like that in my life.
“I was physically sick. I sat on my sofa and thought I was going to faint.”
Georgia then confronted Medi at her apartment block, but the convicted fraudster allegedly told her it was nothing to do with him.
The relationship was only stopped when Georgia received a call from her mum as the two went out on a dinner date and was given an ultimatum.
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Georgia explained: “I put my glass of wine down and just got up and left. That was the point when I knew it couldn’t go on.”
Trying to justify why she stayed in the relationship despite her fears over him, Georgia said: “I was very much in love and I don’t fall easily at all.
“He made me feel safe. He was always dressed head-to-toe in designer labels. He could speak five languages and he had this reputation that made everyone very respectful of him.”
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Although now free of the relationship, Georgia says she will struggle to trust men in the future and revealed the ordeal has left her unable to sleep on her own.
The tearful star said: "I'm devastated and I'm fearing for my life. I don’t want anyone to go through what I have. I feel like this is going to affect me for life. Looking back I feel stupid, but at the time it's like being hypnotised.
“I think it has definitely happened for a reason, it's going to make me grow up very quick."
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed to The Sun Online officers were investigating an allegation of fraud.
Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting service, further confirmed it had received the allegation and was in the process of getting it assessed.
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