Federal prosecutors charged two New Yorkers with wire and mail fraud in connection with a social media scheme that defrauded elderly victims of over $660,000.
Raj Parekh, acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said the defendants allegedly impersonated military personnel, diplomats, and others to steal retirement funds. “Working with our law enforcement partners, EDVA will aggressively pursue the perpetrators of scams that prey on vulnerable members of our communities.”
Linda Mbimadong, 29, and Richard Broni, 31, along with other unnamed co-conspirators, allegedly targeted elderly victims on social media and email by impersonating romantic love interests, diplomats, military members, and others.
They and others duped victims into sending cashier’s checks, wire transfers, Apple products, and other valuables.
Victim #1 was a 78-year-old man who lost $580,000, according to the indictment. He had set up an iFlirt account on his phone to communicate with women.
Around September 2019, one of the conspirators began communicating with him via the app, before switching to Google Hangouts and text messages.
She lost her retirement savings of approximately $80,000 to the scheme. Around March 2021, a conspirator contacted Victim #2 on Facebook and then by email and text.
Mbimadong, Broni, and other co-conspirators allegedly duped elderly victims into sending them large sums of money. Victims were also told to buy new MacBooks and mail them to a conspirator.
A cashier’s check or wire transfer from a victim to Mbimadong and Broni was allegedly shared among the co-conspirators.
Mbimadong and Broni are accused of wire fraud and mail and wire fraud conspiracy. Mbimadong is also accused of lying to investigators.
They both face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy or fraud. Mbimadong faces a maximum five-year sentence if convicted of making a false statement. Federal sentences are usually less than the maximum penalties.
The US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors will be considered by a federal district court judge.
Officials from the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division and the Eastern District of Virginia’s acting US Attorney made the announcement.
Source: Justice
