27-year old Evans Appiah is facing a 20-year sentence by the Maryland District court after he was convicted on the charges of wire and mail fraud as well as conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.
Mr. Appiah is believed to have been involved in what federal prosecutors have described as an internet romance scheme involving seven men and women.
He is reported to have combed through online dating sites, where he sparks friendship and then romantic relationships, drawing victims from Wisconsin, California and Florida, asking them for money once he builds enough trust with them.
It was also revealed in the six-day trial at the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt that Appiah and his accomplices would tell their victims false but compelling stories to lure them into sending them money, as revealed by the Maryland U.S Attorney’s office.
According to the Washington Post, there were emails and instant messages that led to phone calls and texts as he courted potential partners.
But prosecutors said that once the man gained a person’s trust, he used the promise of romantic relationships to obtain money — more than $600,000 over two years.
Four victims testified at trial, including a recently divorced high school guidance counsellor.
She paid Appiah $160,000, prosecutors said, for what he told her were emergency travel and health situations. Appiah had told the woman he was in love with her and would help raise her children, prosecutors said.
Appiah created 10 bank accounts to receive the funds, authorities said, and in some cases used the money to make purchases that he then shipped to others outside the United States.
In one instance, prosecutors said, Appiah used the name and other identity information of a victim as he deposited the victim’s cashier’s check into his own bank account.
The scheme Appiah ran lasted from December 2013 to June 2015.
