The trial of a woman accused of defrauding two Charlottetown men of more than $50,000 by convincing them she could convert white paper to money continued Friday.

Marie Claire Mballa is a French national, and her trial is being conducted in French with a translator.

Two men have described separate but very similar incidents with Marie Claire Mballa.
(Police photo)

Two men have now testified at this trial that they met Mballa last summer in Charlottetown. Their meetings were separate, but they have both described very similar experiences.

They testified they knew her as Jenna and said she had told them she was carrying a large amount of Canadian money disguised as white paper. Both men said she told them that through a special chemical process she could restore the colour to the money but that she needed to borrow money from them to complete the process.

One man gave her $29,000; the other $24,000.

Not doing anything wrong, men testify

They brought her the money in $100 bills, which they stacked up, alternating the bills with sheets of white paper. The men said Mballa then added some powder and a chemical liquid, sealed the stacks in a plastic bag and told the men to put the bags in the fridge for several hours.

The man who testified Friday said when he opened the bag, all he found was a bunch of mushy paper that fell apart in his hands but no bills. He said he felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured on his head, and he didn't know whether to cry over his stupidity or over the loss of the money.

Both men insist they didn't think they were doing anything wrong. They said they didn't believe they were making counterfeit money but simply restoring colour to real money.

One man said he felt he'd been brainwashed; the other said he saw an opportunity to double his money as a good business deal.

The trial continues March 11.