Dumfries Man Found Guilty For Role In $3 Million Romance Fraud

DUMFRIES, VA — A federal jury convicted a 34-year-old man from Dumfries of wire fraud and money laundering for his role in a romance fraud scheme that used ChristianMingle.com and other online dating sites to scam millions of dollars from its victims. Henry N. Asomani, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ghana who lives in the Prince William County town, received a total of $2.9 million from more than a dozen victims across the country, including three women in Missouri, between September 2015 and October 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, found Asomani guilty on Friday, Dec. 13 on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering. Asomani was taken into custody to await sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on each of the four conspiracy and wire fraud counts, and up to 10 years in federal prison without parole on each of the two money laundering counts.

Asomani allegedly served as the middle man of the scheme, receiving money stolen by unknown co-conspirators. Asomani kept a portion of the proceeds for himself and funneled the rest of the proceeds to co-conspirators in Ghana. Asomani operated five different companies with 16 different accounts at eight different banks as part of the operation, according to the Justice Department.

Asomani's unknown co-conspirators would target women through the online dating websites. The conspirators would impersonate individuals who were involved in business overseas. They convinced the women that they needed funds to help with moving gold from a foreign country, orphanage expenses, and school and travel expenses. The victims were told they would share in the profits when the gold was transferred to the United States. But none of the victims received any profit or gold from the conspirators, the federal prosecutors said.

One victim from Lee's Summit, Missouri, set up a profile on ChristianMingle.com after the death of her husband from brain cancer. In October 2015, an individual claiming to be "Larry B. White" contacted the woman about investing in a gold mine in Ghana. "White" promised a 40-percent return on the investment of money.

From November 2015 through January 2016, the woman sent funds to multiple entities by check and wire totaling about $3.3 million. Of that amount, $2.9 was transferred to accounts controlled by Asomani, who spent $50,000 of the amount to make a down payment on a 2019 silver Lexus NX300. To date, the woman has not received any money or gold profits from "White."

Another victim, who lives in Kansas City, Missouri, met "Bradley Fischer" on ChristianMingle.com, according to the Department of Justice. "Fischer" convinced the victim to send funds for school expenses, travel expenses, and to start a new life in Kansas City. On July 19, 2017, the victim wired $24,000 to Asomani's bank account. "Fischer" promised to pay the victim back when he got to Kansas City. To date, the victim has received only $1,000 back from "Fischer."

Other victims of the scheme live in New Jersey, Alaska, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Iowa.

Although federal prosecutors said bank investigators and FBI agents repeatedly warned Asomani that his bank accounts were receiving the proceeds of a fraud scheme, he continued to receive the funds and simply closed accounts when funds were frozen, then opened new accounts at a different bank.

Asomani wired about $1.8 million from his bank accounts in the United States to bank accounts in Ghana, according to the Department of Justice. He spent about $342,278 on auto purchases and auto- or shipping-related expenses as part of the money-laundering scheme. Asomani shipped 18 vehicles to Ghana, having a declared value of approximately $284,190.