Current:Home > InvestBoston man sentenced for opening bank accounts used by online romance scammers -FutureWise Finance
Boston man sentenced for opening bank accounts used by online romance scammers
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:50:24
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston man who opened multiple bank accounts that were used by others to deposit money embezzled from victims of online romance scams, including one woman who was cheated out of $720,000, was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison.
Mike Oziegbe Amiegbe, 45, was also sentenced to three months of home confinement, three years of probation and was ordered to pay nearly $830,000 in forfeiture and restitution to victims, according to federal prosecutors.
Amiegbe from 2017 through 2020 used at least nine aliases and fake passports to open accounts at multiple banks in the Boston area, according to court documents. Those accounts were used by the scammers to deposit the victims’ money.
Amiegbe then quickly accessed those accounts and either withdrew the fraud proceeds in cash from ATMs or with a cashier’s check, prosecutors said. The money was sent to others overseas. On some occasions he was seen on bank surveillance video conducting those transactions, according to court documents.
One of the victims was a 70-year-old San Antonio woman who was defrauded out of $720,000 by someone who purported to be a U.S. Army soldier in Syria, according to court documents. The scammer contacted the victim through social media and gradually earned her affection and trust, convincing her that they were in a romantic relationship even though they’d never met or spoken on the phone.
That person told the victim that he had come into millions of dollars while working in Iraq, and asked her to send him money so that he could access it.
Some of that victim’s money was sent to accounts opened by Amiegbe, prosecutors said.
In February 2022, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Zebras and camels rescued from trailer fire in Indiana
- Shares of building materials maker Holcim jump as it plans to list unit in the US
- Pauly Shore sued by man for alleged battery and assault at The Comedy Store club
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Trial to begin for men accused of killing Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay
- How Below Deck Has Changed Since Captain Lee Rosbach's Departure
- Russian election officials register Putin to run in March election he’s all but certain to win
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- Three Americans killed, ‘many’ wounded in drone attack by Iran-backed militia in Jordan, Biden says
Ranking
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Pedro Almodóvar has a book out this fall, a ‘fragmentary autobiography’ called ‘The Last Dream’
- In Oregon, a New Program Is Training Burn Bosses to Help Put More “Good Fire” on the Ground
- San Francisco 49ers have gold rush in second half of NFC championship
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Taylor Swift gets an early reason to celebrate at AFC title game as Travis Kelce makes a TD catch
- Last victim of Maui wildfires identified months after disaster
- How Taylor Swift Can Make It to the Super Bowl to Support Travis Kelce
Recommendation
Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
How Below Deck Has Changed Since Captain Lee Rosbach's Departure
Police ID man accused of fleeing with suspect’s gun after officer shot, suspect killed
Inter Miami vs. Al-Hilal live updates: How to watch Messi in Saudi Arabia
Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
Oklahoma trooper violently thrown to the ground as vehicle on interstate hits one he’d pulled over
Zebras and camels rescued from trailer fire in Indiana
Kate Middleton Released From Hospital After Abdominal Surgery