Brooklyn Park Man Pleads Guilty to $2.3M Romance Swindle
A Brooklyn Park man pleaded guilty in federal court this week to a $2.3 million online romance fraud scheme.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, 37-year-old Dodzi Kordorwu pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in federal court on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
Kordorwu was federally indicted in February.
Prosecutors say Kordorwu spent four years facilitating a scheme that targeted elderly victims.
Co-conspirators in the scheme would impersonate a U.S. diplomat or a military official and contact victims through social media or email.
They would develop a romantic connection with the victim, then ask for money.
“Some scheme participants communicated with victims playing the role of a third-party or intermediary to corroborate the false persona’s explanation of why the persona needed the victim to send money,” the guilty plea reads.
Victims then sent money by mail or other means to the perpetrators. Some of those perpetrators live overseas.
According to the indictment, Kordorwu created limited liability companies to open bank accounts and a P.O. box to use in the scheme.
Kordorwu admitted to receiving more than 90 packages from the victims. He kept some of the money for himself and distributed the rest to his co-conspirators.
Mail fraud is a felony with a maximum imprisonment term of 20 years.
See also: Brooklyn Park Man Federally Indicted After Car Crash
