Man sentenced to 3 years in prison after scamming, preying on elderly in dating apps
TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A romance scammer with ties to a Nigerian organized crime syndicate was sentenced to more than three years in prison, according to U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Frederick Orji, 38, and his conspirators preyed on elderly victims, court documents say. Many of the victims were widowed or divorced.
They assumed fake names and trolled dating sites, searching for targets. When in contact with their victims, they came up with stories as to why they needed money, like taxes to release an inheritance, essential overseas travel or crippling debt.
Orji, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Nigeria, admitted that once he and his conspirators had depleted the victims' accounts of all the funds they were willing and able to send, in some cases emptying their entire savings, they would stop communicating with the victims.
Orji was first charged along with his conspirators in an operation led by the FBI in September 2021. He pleaded guilty in June 2022 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced on Monday to 37 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $418,030 in restitution to his victims.
His brother, co-defendant Emanuel Orji, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in September 2022 and will be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2023.
Five more defendants are awaiting trial, which is set for March 20, 2023.
According to the FBI, more than 20,000 people lost more than $600 million in romance scams in 2020 alone.