NATIONAL NEWS

Man gets 4 1/2 years for role in $8M online romance scam

Mar 22, 2023, 9:53 AM

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man convicted of helping steal millions of dollars from hundreds of people in online romance scams, often regaling the victims with stories of oil rig explosions and foreign jails, has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.

Kofi Osei, 30, and his alleged accomplices from 2016 to 2020 targeted mostly older people seeking companionship by creating fake online dating profiles, prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday.

They gradually gained their victims’ trust before directing them to transfer money to one of dozens of bank accounts Osei opened using fake passports, aliases and phony business names, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Once the money was in the bank account, it was quickly withdrawn.

Some of the money was used to buy cars that were sent to Nigeria and sold, prosecutors said.

The scheme received more than $8 million in proceeds, $4 million of which went directly into accounts that Osei opened and controlled, prosecutors said.

Among the victims was a Florida woman who sent more than $200,000 to accounts Osei controlled after being told that her online boyfriend needed funds to secure his release from custody following an explosion on his oil rig, according to court records.

Another victim from California sent $65,000 to an account Osei controlled after being told the money was needed to support employees injured in an accident at the overseas worksite of her online boyfriend and to release him from jail, prosecutors said. The woman was “left financially and emotionally devastated,” prosecutors said.

Osei was arrested in February 2021 and pleaded guilty in September to making a false statement to a bank, wire fraud and money laundering. He was also ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution and forfeiture.

Federal prosecutors had asked for a nine-year sentence.

Osei grew up in poverty in Ghana and came to the U.S. legally to pursue a professional soccer career, his attorney said in court documents. The defense sought leniency, saying Osei was remorseful and a loving father with no prior criminal history who made “a poor and misguided decision.”

National News

Associated Press

For-profit school accused of preying on Black students reaches $28.5 million settlement

A for-profit college accused of targeting women and Black students with false advertising about how long it would take to complete a degree, then extracting millions of dollars in extra tuition payments, agreed to a $28.5 million settlement announced Thursday. The class-action lawsuit alleged that Walden University generated millions of dollars in excess tuition and […]

12 minutes ago

Associated Press

Michigan GOP lawmaker claims that buses carrying March Madness teams are ‘illegal invaders’

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A right-wing Michigan state lawmaker who has been tied to former President Donald Trump and his election denials is being widely criticized after making claims that buses carrying college athletes to Detroit for March Madness were immigrant “invaders” being shuttled into the city illegally. Michigan state House Rep. Matt Maddock […]

49 minutes ago

Associated Press

Dashcam video shows deadly Texas school bus crash after cement truck veers into oncoming lane

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dash camera video released Thursday by a Texas school district shows the moment a cement truck veered into oncoming traffic, hitting a school bus carrying more than 40 pre-K students returning from a zoo field trip. The deadly collision on March 22 sends the bus rolling over on a rural highway […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Last coal-burning power plant in New England set to close in a win for environmentalists

BOSTON (AP) — The last coal-fired power plant in New England, which had been the focus of a lawsuit and protests, is set to close in a victory for environmentalists. Granite Shore Power said Wednesday it reached an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to close the Merrimack Station in New Hampshire by June 2028. […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Universities of Wisconsin president proposes 3.75% tuition increase

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tuition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and other campuses in the system would increase 3.75% next school year under a recommendation announced Thursday by UW President Jay Rothman. The proposal is up for a vote of approval by the UW Board of Regents on April 4. If approved, it would be […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Maryland seeks $60M in federal help to start recovery plan for collapsed Baltimore bridge

BALTIMORE (AP) — Massive barges carrying cranes streamed toward Baltimore on Thursday to begin the challenging work of removing twisted metal and concrete in an attempt to open a key shipping route blocked by the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore promised that “the best minds in the world” were […]

6 hours ago

Man gets 4 1/2 years for role in $8M online romance scam