In a series of sentences handed down by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, three individuals were sentenced for their roles in a fraudulent romance scheme that preyed upon elderly victims and resulted in the death of a retired teacher. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Salma Abdalkareem, 29, received a 51-month sentence while Chinagorom Onwumere, 36, and Stephen O. Anagor, 37, were given 84 and 108 months, respectively.
The trio, including two Nigerian men and one Sudanese woman, were implicated in an intricate scam that siphoned $388,500 from unsuspecting victims who thought they were communicating with and romantically involved with celebrities. As part of their sentences, each defendant is required to repay this amount in restitution. Onwumere and Anagor will also face five years of supervised release after incarceration, whereas Abdalkareem will have three years, the justice department stated, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Pleading guilty to multiple counts, including wire fraud and aiding and abetting money laundering, the defendants admitted to participating in a conspiracy where actors posed as public figures to lure victims into giving money for fraudulent reasons. U.S. Attorney's Office reveal that they impersonated high-ranking officials from the FBI and the Department of Justice to lend credibility to their demands.
The targeted individuals believed they were contributing to various causes, such as help with taxes on luxury vehicles or fees to halt supposed investigations. One elderly victim, a previous teacher from Jonesborough, Tennessee fell so deeply into the deceit that he sent the entirety of his life savings, hoping to aid a celebrity he believed he was romantically engaged with. "In his last know text messages, the victim—believing he was speaking with the celebrity—advised that he had no more money and was going to end his life," the U.S. Attorney's Office detailed. The tragic culmination of this scheme was the man's suicide on October 23, 2023, a situation brought about by the crushing despair following the relentless exploitation.
The successful prosecution was led by U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, with the investigation being a collective effort by Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. "The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation led by HSI, Army CID, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office," Assistant United States Attorney Mac D. Heavener III represented the United States at the sentencing, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
