Greenwich Resident Loses $200,000 In 'Sweetheart Scam': Police

GREENWICH, CT — An Illinois man is accused of conning an 87-year-old Greenwich resident into wiring him over $200,000 as part of a "sweetheart scam," according to police.

In a statement, police said the resident's bank contacted the department in September 2019 after noticing several suspicious wire transfers from the resident's account. (To sign up for Greenwich breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

Investigators later met with the resident, who said she was contacted through social media by a man named "Bernard Slack" earlier in the year. "Slack" was later identified by police as Kayode Ogunjimi, 30, of Oswego, Ill.

As "Slack," Ogunjimi told the resident he worked on an oil rig and identified himself as a "handsome older man," police said. He also sent pictures of an older man, who was not Ogunjimi, to the resident to further deceive her, police said.

"The [resident] befriended 'Slack' and they frequently communicated via the Internet," police said in a statement.

According to police, Ogunjimi eventually "professed his love" for the resident and began asking for money to pay for machinery related to a new business. The resident ultimately sent Ogunjimi over $200,000 through wire transfers, police said.

After a lengthy investigation, police identified Ogunjimi as "Slack" and determined the resident had wired money into bank accounts for "numerous different companies," which ended up in Ogunjimi's possession, police said.

Officers later applied for an arrest warrant for Ogunjimi, who was arrested by police in Arlington Heights, Ill., on June 12, police said.

On Wednesday, Greenwich police officers traveled to the Cook County Correctional Facility in Chicago to transport Ogunjimi back to Connecticut. He was charged with first-degree larceny.