Romance scammer who defrauded eight women appears in Harju court

A man named Hannes Raja has been brought to trial at Harju County Court on charges of defrauding eight women out of at least 200,000 euros. Prosecutors are requesting closed hearings to protect the victims' privacy and prevent re-traumatisation.

A romance fraud case involving at least 200,000 euros in losses has reached Harju County Court in Estonia, where the accused, Hannes Raja, faces charges of systematically deceiving eight women to steal money from them.

Prosecutors handling the case have requested that the hearings be held behind closed doors. The reasoning is to safeguard the personal lives of the victims and to avoid causing them further harm through the public nature of court proceedings — a practice sometimes referred to as re-victimisation.

Romance scams, where perpetrators build emotional relationships with victims before exploiting them financially, have become an increasingly recognised form of fraud across Europe. In this case, the total damages amount to a minimum of 200,000 euros spread across eight individual complainants.