Man sentenced in ‘romance fraud’ swindle where Lee’s Summit widow lost over $3 million
A 35-year-old Virginia man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his role in romance fraud conspiracies that preyed upon lonely women in the Kansas City area and across the country, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney’s office in Kansas City.
A federal judge in Kansas City has also ordered Henry N. Asomani of Dumfries, Virginia, to pay $3.2 million in restitution to his victims and forfeit the money he profited from the conspiracies, according to the release.
A jury found Asomani guilty in December of one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering as well as two counts each of wire fraud and money laundering.
Asomani, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ghana, was the alleged middleman who received money from victims and transferred that money to unknown co-conspirators in Ghana, according to the release.
He operated five companies with 16 accounts at eight banks. When funds were frozen or accounts were closed by the banks, he would open new ones.
The conspiracy targeted victims through online dating websites, using phony stories to convince victims to send money. Asomani allegedly received funds sent by more than a dozen victims across the U.S., including three in the Kansas City area, between September 2015 and October 2017.
One victim, a Lee’s Summit woman, was convinced to invest in a Ghanaian gold mine. She sent just shy of $3.3 million to multiple entities. Of that amount, nearly $2.3 million was transferred to accounts controlled by Asomani, according to the release.
Another Kansas City area victim was convinced to send $24,000 to Asomani’s bank account for school and travel expenses for a person to start a new life in Kansas City. The victim received $1,000 back after she realized she was being defrauded.
Asomani, who wired nearly $1.8 million from his bank accounts in the U.S. to ones in Ghana, spent about $342,000 on auto purchases and auto- or shipping-related expenses as part of the money-laundering scheme, according to the release. He shipped 18 vehicles to Ghana, which had a declared value of about $284,000.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 12:31 PM.
