In the situation listed in the article above, it'd be like anyone committing fraud in real life.

Fraudsters make friends and allies, they get people to trust them, and then they take their money. The idea is that the person committing the fraud has no immediate tie to the person other than having their money or possessions for whatever reason. There should be no personal affiliation outside of the business one, between the fraudster, and the client.

This allows the fraudster to desensitise themselves from the clients they're stealing from, so that they don't feel any traces of guilt or regret for their actions. This makes it easier for them to continue doing what they're doing, sometimes the simple greed of money eases any sense of guilt.

The risk this guy took is the same any fraudster takes: The people know him, and if he is caught then he is basically screwed in that region. His trust will be gone, and it will be hard to rebuild that for practically any gains, legit or otherwise. He can always, however, move on to the next area of attack. Another game, another business.