BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man who authorities say
played a role in scamming two women in their 70s out of a total of more than
$75,000 has pleaded guilty to money laundering and visa fraud charges, federal
prosecutors say.
Fortune Aikorogie, 33, of Lynn, used a counterfeit
Zimbabwean passport and U.S. visa bearing his photograph, but with the
fictitious name “Tinashi Chipo,” to open an account at a Dracut bank, according
to a statement Tuesday from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston.
Aikorogie had obtained the fake documents from a friend in
Africa.
In late 2016, two women in Texas whom Aikorogie did not
know wired a total of $75,500 into the account at the request of fraudsters who
romanced them online, prosecutors said.
One victim was a 71-year old widow with advanced
Parkinson’s disease and the other was a 78-year old retiree.
Aikorogie withdrew the money and delivered it to men he did
not know, prosecutors said.
The scheme was exposed by a suspicious bank investigator
who informed police.
Aikorogie pleaded guilty Tuesday to making a false statement
to a bank, money laundering and visa and passport fraud. Sentencing was
scheduled for Oct. 14.
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