Nigerian man pleads guilty in scams that cost Kentucky women more than $300,000
A Nigerian man has pleaded guilty in connection with scams that federal authorities say cost two Kentucky women more than $300,000.
Ismaila Fafunmi pleaded guilty Friday to one charge of taking part in a money-laundering conspiracy.
Fafunmi admitted he worked with other people to con women out of money through various methods, including so-called romance scams, according to his plea deal.
One victim was a Kentucky woman, not named in court records, who joined an internet dating site in June 2018.
Fafunmi, who lived in Speedway, Ind., part of Indianapolis, contacted the woman through the site and duped her into believing they were in a relationship, according to court records.
Fafunmi used an alias and claimed he was a U.S. Army soldier.
That is one common tactic in romance scams that often target women in their 50s or older.
The victim sent Fafunmi gifts, such as Apple products and other electronics, according to an affidavit in the case from Chelsea Holliday, an FBI special agent.
Fafunmi told the woman he wanted to marry her, but was deployed to Syria and needed $75,000 to get out of his Army contract and come home.
The woman took out a home-equity loan and sent $73,000 to an account Fafunmi designated, according to the affidavit.
Fafunmi later asked the victim to take out another home-equity loan, but by then she had realized the relationship was a scam and had contacted the FBI, Holliday said.
The victim lost more than $200,000, according to Fafunmi’s plea deal.
A second Kentucky woman fell into the trap after getting a Facebook message from someone that appeared to be one of her friends on the platform, telling her about the potential to apply for a big grant.
The woman eventually found the page was fake. However, she had sent a total of $183,000 to register for the grant, Holliday said in her affidavit.
The address where she sent some of the payments was Fafunmi’s in Indiana.
Fafunmi and others involved in the scams sent money back to accomplices in Nigeria, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr.
“Internet-based romance scams and grant fraud scams, like the ones perpetrated here, prey on vulnerable individuals and frequently consist of nothing more than promises that are too good to be true and despicable efforts to cheat people out of their money,” Duncan said in a release.
The FBI advises never sending money to a person if you’ve only communicated online or by telephone.
Fafunmi is scheduled to be sentenced in November and faces up to 20 years in prison.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 10:32 AM.
