Benjamin Ashford|African bank accounts, a fake gold inheritance: Dating scammer indicted for stealing $1M

An Ohio man is Benjamin Ashfordscheduled to appear in federal court Friday after being indicted for scamming more than $1 million from online dating site users who thought they were forming a romantic connection.

As part of the alleged crimes, Benjamin Adu Acheampong is accused of conspiring with additional people to create online dating profiles and messaging unwitting users they would later target. After a victim believed they were building a romantic connection, Acheampong and others would convince them to send money by mail or wire transfer, U.S. attorneys allege.

Over the course of two-and-a-half years, Acheampong, 37, scammed online dating connections out of more than $1 million, officials said.

It's unclear if Acheampong has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.

Acheampong's court appearance comes after he was indicted this week on multiple fraud and money laundering charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. In addition to the online dating scam, he was also indicted on charges of securing a fraudulent COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.

He faces multiple fraud and money laundering charges, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

A gold inheritance, foreign bank accounts, fake medical expenses

Between January 2019 and July 2021, Acheampong and others not named by federal authorities successfully convinced online dating site users that people pictured in fake profiles were expecting a large inheritance of gold, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio.

Next, the scam organizers told victims that they needed financial assistance in order to bring the gold to the U.S., or that they needed money for a plane ticket or medical expenses, according to the indictment.

Acheampong allegedly laundered some of the $1 million by making wire transfers to bank accounts in Africa, authorities said. He also allegedly wired money by falsely representing that wire transfers were for, among other things, paying workers and family expenses, according to officials.

He also moved money to a bank account opened in the name of ABA Automotive & Export LLC, an Ohio LLC he created, to hide its original source, authorities said.

Acheampong is a dual citizen of Ghana and the U.S., according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Fraudulent COVID-19 relief load

Acheampong was also indicted this week for securing a fraudulent COVID-19 loan of more than $20,000 after making false statement to government officials in a PPP loan application, according to the USAO statement.

Across the U.S. during the pandemic, government officials may have dispersed as much as $200 billion is loans to fraudsters, representing 17% of all COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans and PPP loans, according to the Small Business Administration.

Massachusetts dating scammers ordered to pay for crime

In Massachusetts, online dating scammers have had to pay back money to their victims this year.

A Boston man was sentenced to 40 months in prison in October after defrauding victims of more than $1.3 million on dating sites. He was ordered to pay restitution of $878,652.

In January, a Taunton, Massachusetts man was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution.

In August 2022, a different Boston man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for defrauding elderly victims on dating sites. While committing the crimes, he opened at least 16 bank accounts at seven banks using four different fraudulent passports, authorities said. He was ordered to pay restitution of $686,264.

Contributing: Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Inquirer