A man from Ghana convicted of defrauding a WNY woman of over $200,000 through an online romance scheme has been sentenced to 24 months in prison.
Jason Osei Bonsu, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Bonsu and his co-defendants utilized the website MillionaireMatch.com to convince victims that they were engaged in romantic relationships via the internet.
The victims received alleged photos of people they were supposedly engaged in relationships with, which were actually photos downloaded from the internet.
Victims were then asked to wire money for various reasons, including help with business ventures, family emergencies, or inheritances.
The victims wired the funds to accounts in Ghana, the U.K, and to accounts in the U.S. controlled by Ghana nationals.
On March 2, 2016, the WNY victim wired $65,000 to Bonsu’s co-conspirator’s bank account, then on March 21, following a request by “Marvin Roecker,” who she believed she was engaged in an online romance with. The victim later wired an additional $180,000 to a bank account located in the United Kingdom, which was controlled by a co-conspirator.
Text messages between Bonsu and co-defendant Adams Amen, 32, a citizen of Ghana, who resides in Detroit, demonstrate that both were participants in the scheme to defraud the WNY victim. For instance, Amen and Bonsu discussed quickly withdrawing the money she sent to prevent the bank from becoming suspicious.
Amen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in February.
Source:http:wivb.com/
