Texas Man Sentenced For Role In Scamming RI Seniors Looking For Love

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Texas man, who pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with online romance scams targeting seniors in Rhode Island and at least 10 other states, was sentenced to three years in federal prison on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said.

The man, 52-year-old Fola Alabi, of Richmond, Texas, told a federal judge in January that he created companies and opened bank accounts that were used to launder about $1.5 million in proceeds from unsuspecting seniors that a member of the conspiracy befriended online.

The U.S. Attorney's office said that a person helping Alabi often posed as a general in the U.S. military serving overseas, feigning a personal, and sometimes romantic, interest in his victims, and convinced them to send substantial sums of money—usually in the form of bank checks or cash—to Alabi.

One of Alabi's victims is a Rhode Island widow who sent who she believed was a "General Miller" $60,000 in order to 'finance shipments of his personal belongings to the United States,' the U.S. Attorney’s Office added. The woman was only made aware of the potential fraud when she was asked to send additional money to "General Miller," after which her bank determined she was likely being victimized.

Alabi was arrested in May 2022 after federal agents discovered photos and videos of packages containing cash and checks received by Alabi from victims of the scam, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Following Alabi's prison sentence, he must serve three years of federal supervised release. He must also pay the money he obtained through scams in restitution.