MN Man Swindled $1.6M From Widow Using Dating Site, Crypto: Feds

COLORADO — A 37-year-old Minnesota man has been charged in a scheme involving cryptocurrency and a dating website, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Tuesday.

Adetomiwa Seun Akindele faces 10 counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of money laundering.

Between January 2018 through October 2018, Akindele posed as a wealthy Italian-American businessman named "Frank Labato" on a dating website, authorities said.

On that site, he met a widowed Colorado woman, according to investigators.

In February 2018, "Frank" began emailing the woman and in March 2018, the two began speaking on the phone, authorities said.

During the calls, "Frank" gave fake personal and work background information, images, and photos, according to investigators.

In March 2018, "Frank" told the woman that he suffered a financial crisis working abroad and claimed to need money, authorities said.

The woman opened a cryptocurrency exchange account and wired over $1.6 million dollars to Akindele, still posing as "Frank," according to investigators.

Akindele then laundered the money across multiple crypto exchanges before converting it back into U.S. dollars and depositing it into his own bank accounts, authorities said.

"Frank” fraudulently told the woman he would repay her "loans" to his business, and he executed three fraudulent "promissory notes," investigators said.