Chennai: A woman with a history of duping aged divorcees, particularly govt officials looking for remarriage, by marrying them and divesting them of their wealth, was arrested in Guduvancherry on Monday.The modus operandi of the woman involved usurping their valuables and property before separating from them, legally or otherwise. Police said that Madonna, 47, of Coimbatore is suspected to have targeted at least 15 retired govt officials. She would pose as a widow or a woman in distress to gain the trust of men who have lost their spouses and were living alone.The case came to light after Vanathaiyan, a local public health officer, lodged a complaint through his daughter, Cecilia saying Madonna, along with a group of associates, attempted to usurp Vanathaiyan’s property by threatening his family. She allegedly broke into their residence and intimidated the family.Police investigations revealed that Madonna had a history of similar fraudulent marriages. In 1993, she married Mahendran, a forest officer from Ooty. After his death, she married Kanagaraj, a retired army officer from Adhanur near Vancheri, in 2014, and swindled him of money and jewellery, and divorced him.In 2021, she used fake documents to deceive a church priest and married Vanathaiyan. Police said she was active on matrimonial websites and also approached victims through mutual acquaintances.Following a formal complaint by Cecilia, the Manimangalam police launched an investigation, confirming Madonna’s involvement in a series of marriage scams aimed at defrauding elderly men. It has also come to light that she is facing a separate case in Ooty for defrauding the govt treasury. She usually took jewellery or coerced victims to bequeath their property in her name, police said. Further investigation is on.