A Boston man who operated a romance scam and other online fraud targeting the elderly was sentenced Wednesday to nearly three years in federal prison, according to the US Attorney’s office.
Macpherson Osemwegie, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud n Sept. 1, 2021, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s office.
He was sentenced to 32 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, the statement said. He must also pay nearly $690,000 in restitution to an estimated 100 victims, the statement said.
According to prosecutors, Osemwegie participated in a series of online scams intended to defraud victims — among them, “romance scams,” where scammers use the illusion of a romantic relationship to manipulate or steal from their victims.
In this case, the scammers directed their victims to send money to bank accounts which they had opened using fake foreign passports under false names, the statement said. Osemwegie’s role was opening the accounts, and quickly withdrawing the funds once they were transferred.
Prosecutors allege that Osemwegie opened “at least” 16 accounts at seven different banks between June 2017 and February 2020, using four different passports. Many of the nearly100 victims were elderly, the statement said, and some were deprived of their life savings, prosecutors said.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @fonseca_esq.
