Seven Ghanaians Arraigned Before A U.S Court For Multi million Dollar 'Romance Fraud' Aka Sakawa

Seven Ghanaian defendants plus their South African co-conspirator have been arraigned before a U.S court in Columbus, Ohio, for a multi million dollar romance scam.
The seven have been running the sweet scam for years duping people through dating sites, getting them to wire them money and then using shell companies to hide the proceeds from their scam.
A team of U.S attorneys prosecuting the case had them indicted before a grand jury where the defendants where named as Kwabena M. Bonsu, Kwasi A. Oppong, Kwame Ansah, John Y. Amoah, Samuel Antwi, King Faisal Hamidu, Nkosiyoxoxo Msuthu and Cynthia Appiagyei.

READ ALSO: My Girlfriend Dumped Me After Only One Month Of My 10 Year Jail Sentence — Ramzy

The grand jury indictment, available online on the US Justice Department’s website, details the scam being run by the defendants.
The indictment reads…

According to the indictment, individuals committing fraud created several profiles on online dating sites. They then contacted men and women throughout the United States with whom they cultivated a sense of affection, and often, romance.
After establishing relationships, perpetrators of the romance scams allegedly requested money, typically for investment or need-based reasons, and provided account information and directions for where money should be sent. In part, these accounts were controlled by the defendants. Typical wire amounts ranged from $10,000 to more than $100,000 per wire.
The funds were not used for the purposes claimed by the perpetrators of the romance scams. Instead, the defendants conducted transactions designed to conceal, such as withdrawing cash, transferring funds to other accounts and purchasing assets and sending the assets overseas.
“According to the indictment, the defendants laundered the funds from a scheme to seduce victims throughout the United States using dating websites like Match.com and then defrauding them of millions of dollars,” U.S. Attorney Glassman said.
It is alleged that the individuals commonly used some the fraud proceeds to purchase salvaged vehicles sold online. The cars were commonly exported to Ghana.
Fictitious reasons for investment requests included gold, diamond, oil and gas pipeline opportunities in Africa. Websites used involve Match.com, ChristianMingle.com, BabyBoomerPeopleMeet.com, PlentyofFish.com, OurTime.com, EHarmony.com and Facebook. At least 26 victims have been identified thus far.