Minnesota man sues ex for fraud after he was dumped

A Minnesota man sued his ex-girlfriend in Oklahoma accusing her for fraud after she dumped him. 

Arturo Eguia-Welch sought to be reimbursed $32,135 for expenses he claims he incurred on trips to Las Vegas, Texas and Cancun, Mexico in 2014 with his ex, 29-year-old Yukon native Journi Lynn Bentley, The Oklahoman reported.

‘She gave me hope, false hope,’ he said during testimony. 

Eguia-Welch, who owns a motorcycle shop in St. Paul, claims that the woman lied to him about being separated and on the verge of getting divorced when she was still with her husband, whom she has two children with. 

The 40-year-old man claims that Bentley insinuated he was ‘next in line.’   

‘I did it out of love the whole time,’ he testified in a deposition about his expenses during their relationship. 

He sought to be reimbursed $32,135 for money he spent on trips with Bentley (above) to Mexico, Las Vegas and Texas

Arturo Eguia-Welch (left), 40, sued his ex-girlfriend, Journi Lynn Bentley (right), accusing her for fraud after she dumped him. He sought to be reimbursed $32,135 for money he spent on trips with her to Mexico, Las Vegas and Texas

‘When I realized that I wasted time in my life pursuing somebody who had lied to me is when I decided that I wanted to seek damages.’

The man decided to sue her, despite telling her once on Facebook, ‘I don’t expect anything in return … I’m pretty well off’ and ‘it’s like pennies to me,’ the newspaper reported. 

A judge disagreed with him last year and his case was thrown out of a Canadian County court. However, his lawyers argued against the ruling and the Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals let the ruling stand in July.   

‘If recompense for gifts bestowed upon lovers who parted ways was an available remedy … the courts would be flooded with suits seeking the same,’ attorney Ben Grubb had argued on Bentley’s behalf, the newspaper reported. 

‘The courts are an avenue for an aggrieved party to seek justice, not a vehicle for jilted lovers to recover funds spent courting.’

A judge disagreed with him last year and his case was thrown out of a Canadian County court.

Eguia-Welch met Bentley (above) working as a waitress at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill during a business trip to Oklahoma City about 10 years ago

A judge disagreed with him last year and his case was thrown out of a Canadian County court. Eguia-Welch (left)  met Bentley (right) working as a waitress at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill during a business trip to Oklahoma City about 10 years ago

Eguia-Welch met Bentley working as a waitress at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill during a business trip to Oklahoma City about 10 years ago.

Bentley admitted that she showed poor judgement going on trips with him in 2014 as a way to take a break from her then-failing marriage, the newspaper reported. 

She claims that Eguia-Welch had become persistent in communicating with her, but that she never led him on as she did get divorced eventually in 2014.  

‘From the very beginning, I told him, ‘I am married. I don’t want a relationship. I’ll spend time with you because I don’t like where I am right now.’ But I always made sure he was clear that I was not in … a situation to guarantee him anything. I couldn’t give him that,’ she said. 

Bentley broke up with Eguia-Welch in May 2014 when she visited him in Minnesota.  

‘I thought it was odd because we stayed in a hotel. He never let me visit his house,’ she said of the Minnesota visit. 

‘Come to find out later through the deposition he was married the entire time and never told me.’

He was later arrested and charged with a felony for second-degree burglary in June 2015 over an incident at her home. He is pictured above in his arrest photo

He was later arrested and charged with a felony for second-degree burglary in June 2015 over an incident at her home. He is pictured above in his arrest photo

After they broke, Eguia-Welch reportedly took a car to Oklahoma for Bentley to drive because she wrecked hers. 

Bentley claims that in January 2015 he became upset when he found out she wanted to return the vehicle and that she had a new love interest. 

Bentley went to the police and filed a protective order against Eguia-Welch after he took the vehicle back. 

She claims in the protective order request that Eguia-Welch entered her home on January 15,2015 without permission, and that he was harassing and threatening her through messages that day. 

A temporary order barring contact was approved and put in place.

Police arrested and charged Eguia-Welch with a felony, second-degree burglary, in June 2015 over the incident at Bentley’s home. He pleaded not guilty to the charge and the case is still pending. 

The judge in the civil case ordered him to pay Bentley (above) more than $14,000 for her attorney fees and costs in January. She said:  'You live and you learn.'

The judge in the civil case ordered him to pay Bentley (above) more than $14,000 for her attorney fees and costs in January. She said:  ‘You live and you learn.’

She also claims he talked about their relationship to several people in her life, including her ex-husband, a supervisor at work, her parents and members of her church.

In his deposition he acknowledged that he had offered to help her ex-husband ‘take her to court’ in an attempt to try and get out of paying child support. 

Bentley also said that the lawsuit against her was irritating because she ran out of money due to having to hire and paying an attorney.  

‘Knowing a little bit more about the court system, really the only defense you have is just not putting yourself in the situation to begin with,’ she told The Oklahoman. ‘You live and you learn.’

The judge in the civil case ordered him to pay Bentley more than $14,000 for her attorney fees and costs in January.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk