Richmond woman indicted for involvement in nationwide romance scheme
RICHMOND, Texas - A woman has been formally charged for her involvement in a nationwide romance fraud scheme.
KNOW THE SIGNS: Dating or being defrauded? How romance scams target hopeless romantics
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release Akua Dufie of Richmond, Texas is set to make her initial appearance before a magistrate judge Tuesday afternoon.
According to officials, Dufie acted as a "money mule" and on February 16, a federal grand jury returned a 7-count superseding indictment adding her to an existing case against Kenneth Anim, 39.
The report alleges Anim and Dufie created individual sham businesses operating as money mules in relation to various mail, and wire fraud, as well as internet and romance fraud scams.
The story behind Houston online romance scam
A Houston family says their elderly father was scammed out of more than $100,000 dollars by a woman he met through a dating site. Social Catfish reports people seeking love lost a record $547 million dollars to romance scams last year with Texas being the third highest state. FOX 26's Heather Sullivan investigates and you won't believe what she uncovered.
The two also reportedly opened bank accounts to collect proceeds from the funds and use it for themselves or send them to co-conspirators and people overseas.
SUGGESTED: Avoiding romance scams: US victims losing millions of dollars each year | Zelle, Cash App, PayPal: How to get reimbursed from scams through payment apps
If convicted, both Dufie and Anim face up to 20 years in prison as well as a maximum fine of $500,000.