Indy man sentenced for international romance scam
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
An Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison for his role in an international romance scam that defrauded senior citizens of tens of thousands of dollars. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana says Edwin Agbi was found guilty in March of several charges, including mail fraud, use of a fictitious name as part of a mail fraud scheme, and money laundering.
The Department of Justice says Agbi was part of an international group of scammers creating fake profiles on OurTime, an online dating service designed for adults over 50.
The DOJ says scammers were able to deceive several senior victims, making them believe that they were in genuine relationships with the fake personas. The perpetrators asked the victims for money for a variety of reasons.
The U.S. Attorney says in 2018 and 2019 Agbi received large amounts of cash at his home. After taking his cut, the balance was deposited into foreign bank accounts for his co-conspirators.
As part of the sentence, Agbi will be under supervised by federal authorities for three years following his release from prison. He’s also ordered to pay $95,500 in restitution to the victims.