Minnesota Romance Scammer Owes $2.1 Million in Restitution

St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Minnesota man has been sent to prison and has been ordered to pay more than $2.1 million in restitution for orchestrating a nationwide romance fraud scheme.

According to court documents, 38-year-old Dodzi Kwame Kordorwu of Brooklyn Park helped to facilitate an online romance fraud scheme targeting mostly elderly victims. The US Attorney for Minnesota says the scammers used false pretenses to lure the victims into sending money.

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Officials say the scammers would impersonate real or fictitious persons and work to establish romantic connections with their victims before requesting money from them to assist in resolving a problem or fulfilling a need. A news release says the scammers would also, occasionally, involve a third person to act as an intermediary and corroborate the scammer's story.

Federal prosecutors say Kordorwu received more than 250 packages from victims that contained more than $2 million. According to the charges, the Brooklyn Park man would then distribute the proceeds from the scam to other participants by using dummy corporations and bank accounts.

Kordorwu was sentenced this week to 63 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. He is also responsible for restitution totaling $2,144,291.86.

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