Adetomiwa Seun Akindele, a 37-year-old Nigerian national who had been living in Minnesota, has been sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for defrauding a Colorado woman through an online romance scam. After completing his sentence, Akindele will be deported to Nigeria. He was also ordered to pay $1,692,945 in restitution and faces a forfeiture money judgment of the same amount.
Court documents show that from January to October 2018, Akindele posed as "Frank Labato," claiming to be a wealthy Italian American businessman on a dating website. He established contact with a widowed woman in Colorado, first by email and later by phone calls. During these communications, he provided false information about his identity and background and sent fabricated images to support his story.
In March 2018, Akindele told the victim he was facing a financial crisis related to work abroad and asked her for financial help. At his instruction, the victim opened a cryptocurrency exchange account and wired over $1.6 million as directed by Akindele. The funds were converted into various cryptocurrencies, laundered across multiple exchanges, then converted back into U.S. dollars and deposited into Akindele’s bank accounts. To reassure the victim she would be repaid, Akindele created three fraudulent promissory notes.
United States Attorney Peter McNeilly stated: “This sentence both serves justice to the victim and helps prevent this individual from scamming someone else. This case should be a reminder to the public to be cautious when engaging with people they meet online - especially when those people are asking for money.”
FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek said: “Romance scammers are relentless and cunning, preying on trust and emotion to exploit victims. This was an egregious case, and through relentless investigative work the perpetrator was tracked down and brought to justice.”
The sentencing was overseen by United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Denver Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Martha A. Paluch prosecuted the case.
Case number: 22-cr-00326-CNS
