Virginia man convicted in $3 million romance fraud scheme

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A Virginia man was convicted Friday in federal court in Missouri for his role in a scheme that defrauded lonely women across the country out of nearly $3 million.

Henry N. Asomani, 34, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ghana who lived in Dumfries, Virginia, was found guilty of six counts involving fraud and conspiracy.

Prosecutors said Asomani's co-conspirators contacted people who had posted ads on online dating sites such as ChristianMingle.com, or through their Facebook pages and then used various phony stories to convince victims to send them money.

Prosecutors presented evidence during the trial that Asomani received the proceeds from the unknown co-conspirators and kept some of the proceeds for himself before sending the rest to co-conspirators in Ghana.

Asomani received $2.9 million from more than a dozen victims across the United States between September 2015 and October 2017.

Besides victims in Missouri, other victims live in New Jersey, Alaska, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, Kansas and Iowa.