A man has been sent to prison and penalized for posing as a woman on Facebook to foster relationships with people and scamming them out of more than MVR 700,000.

The Criminal Court sentenced Ismail Zabeeh, K. Kaashidhoo, Silicon to prison in the case where money was taken fraudulently from many people under the ID of Shana Hussain.

He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison with a fine of MVR 100,000.

The ruling reads that Zabeeh used the ID to talk to various people and acquired MVR 710,550 over the course of three years. The Facebook account began being used on 2nd January 2022 until 20th August 2024.

The Prosecutor General's (PG) Office requested the state take back the entire sum as it was acquired with criminal intent, deposited into his account and used while it was in the account.

While the charges were being read in court, Ismail Zabeeh signed a confession with the prosecution.

He stated in court that he confessed to the crime without any coercion. As all legal requirements were met within the agreement, it was accepted at trial.

He has been told to pay the money to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) within a year from the day he was charged, which was on 5th July 2026. After his time remand is voided, Zabeeh's prison sentence went down to seven months and 15 days.