Melbourne gambler jailed for scamming almost $800,000 from Tinder dates

The 41-year-old woman was a VIP at the Crown Casino.
The 41-year-old woman was a VIP at the Crown Casino. Photo credit: Jocelyn Zakhour / Facebook

A VIP gambler in Melbourne has been jailed for convincing her Tinder dates to loan almost $800,000 for a made-up blueberry farm.

Jocelyn Zakhour was jailed for up to four-and-a-half years on Tuesday (local time) after convincing two men on Tinder to give her cash.

The 41-year-old woman was a VIP at Melbourne's Crown Casino and lived there when she met her first victim in June 2018.

Zakhour told the first victim to give her $110,000 to help her buy a blueberry farm and pay for workers, three weeks after they met.

She then demanded more cash by telling him the farm was linked to illegal cigarettes.

Zakhour sent threats against his ex-wife and family and sent the man 240 emails in effort to swindle more money, according to 7news.

All up, the man lost $723,700.

Zakhour also took $61,000 after matching with a second man on Tinder, supposedly paying for her farm equipment and to cover her workers' wages.

"It was a ruthless exploitation and you have broken the ability of both men to be able to trust those around them," Judge Gregory Lyon said.

Zakhour pleaded guilty to six counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception, three counts of blackmail and two counts of extortion with the threat to inflict injury.

She must serve two years and eight months in jail before becoming eligible for parole.