A Kenyan woman in the US pleaded guilty to Ksh431 million romance scams in a fraud conspiracy unravelled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Florence Mwende Musau, 36, from Canton, Ohio, on Monday, June 21, admitted that she conspired to commit wire and bank fraud along with five others. Wire and bank fraud is a criminal act of deception with the aid of electronic communication – such as a telephone or computer.
Romance scams happen when suspects fake identities online to win their victims love and trust. The scammer then uses the relationship to take advantage of the unsuspecting marks.
The six individuals were arrested in early 2021 and were charged on March 25, 2021, after being accused of defrauding victims through the online syndicate.
Musau and her gang were further accused of creating fake passports with numerous aliases which they used to open bank accounts in Boston, Massachusetts.
Relevant agencies caught wind of her plot when she made large cash withdrawals from those accounts, often multiple times on a single day.
The withdrawals were generally structured in amounts less than Ksh1 million to evade detection and circumvent filing currency transaction forms.
The Kenyan lady faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud.
She will also be handed five more years of supervised release, a fine of up to Ksh107 million.
"Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
"The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," the US Attorney's Office announced.
The judge scheduled sentencing for October 14. District of Massachusetts.
