New defendant indicted in multi-million dollar dating scam
A new defendant has been indicted in an internet “romance scheme” that tricked its victims out of millions of dollars.
Nnamdi Franklin Ojimba, 33, is the third person to be charged in Oklahoma City federal court in the online scam. An admitted participant claimed “Franklin” was the mastermind behind the scam, grooming victims with romantic poetry.
The scheme used popular dating sites, including ChristianMingle. com and Match.com, to befriend and then defraud older, vulnerable women, according to prosecutors. A widow from Oklahoma City lost more than $1 million from the scam.
Two participants were sentenced earlier this year to prison for the dating scam.
A federal grand jury indicted Ojimba last month with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and two counts of wire fraud.
The indictment was made public Wednesday after Ojimba appeared in court for an arraignment. He pleaded not guilty. He was arrested in Illinois last month and later released on bond.
Last year, Ken Ejimofor Ezeah, then 33, and Akunna Baiyina Ejiofor, then 31, were indicted in the wire fraud conspiracy, which involved creating dating profiles under the persona “Edward Peter Duffey,” a fictitious financial adviser from Manchester, England, according to prosecutors. The conspirators would build emotional relationships with the dating site users and eventually persuade them into transferring money for fake investments, prosecutors said.
Ezeah pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He admitted to deceiving victims through “claims of romance.” A judge last month sentenced him to 11 years in federal prison.
Ejiofor chose to face trial. In March, jurors convicted Ejiofor of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and 18 counts of wire fraud. A judge in September sentenced Ejiofor to seven years in federal prison.
Both also were ordered to pay $4,678,302 in restitution to 10 victims. Prosecutors alleged the scheme occurred between May 2014 and January 2016 and conned women in multiple states.
During Ejiofor’s trial, Ezeah testified for prosecutors. Ezeah said he and at least two others participated in communicating with victims, whom they called “clients.”
Ezeah testified that “Franklin” came up with the scam, as well as the persona of “Edward Peter Duffey.”
Ejiofor’s role in the scheme included setting up the fraudulent dating profiles, acquiring bank accounts for the transfers and speaking on the phone with victims as “Duffey’s” daughter, “Heather,” according to prosecutors.
At trial, Ejiofor testified she was unaware the scam was going on. An FBI special agent, though, reported Ejiofor admitted in January 2016 to setting up fake dating accounts for Ezeah.
She told the agent that “Franklin used the persona Edward Peter Duffey when dealing with victims,” the agent reported in an affidavit. She also said Ezeah and Franklin asked her to speak to victims “when they needed a female voice,” according to the affidavit.
Victims also received flowers from “Duffey,” prosecutors said.
During Wednesday’s arraignment, Ojimba said he wasn’t a U.S. citizen. It wasn’t noted where he had citizenship.
Ezeah and Ejiofor have lived overseas in the past. Ezeah had been a property developer in Nigeria and would travel internationally during the scheme, according to trial testimony. When initially arrested, both were living in Houston.
The maximum punishment for the conspiracy count and each wire fraud offense is 20 years in federal prison.