A MAN is accused of cheating 30 women out of £1.7million pretending to be soldier in a lonely hearts scam.
Rubbin Sarpong, 35, is allegedly the ring leader of an international fraud gang targeting women on dating sites Plenty of Fish and Match.com.
The FBI claim Sarpong, of New Jersey, and three accomplices used fake or stolen identities to snare their victims.
He is alleged to have persuaded dozens of women to wire money to several bank accounts in a scam which led to one victim taking her own life.
In one instance, one of his accomplices, posing as a diplomat, reportedly told one woman his overseas unit had found millions in gold bars and that he needed help getting some of them to the US.
The woman transferred £75,961 to two US bank accounts over May and June 2018, then took her own life two days after the final transfer.
Authorities say Sarpong and his associates laundered money through New Jersey bank accounts and distributed it through co-conspirators in Ghana.
Sarpong has been charged in a federal court with a single count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Court documents state: “Of the 30 victims identified to date, 27 victims sent approximately $823,386 [£667,437] directly to Sarpong, primarily by wiring monies directly to bank accounts controlled by Sarpong or by transferring monies directly to Sarpong through money transmit services.
“Sarpong received much of the fraudulently obtained proceeds via bank wire transfer, and sometimes bank counter deposit, into a myriad of bank accounts he established at several financial institutions.”
Appearing in court after his arrest on Wednesday, Sarpong asked a judge to assign him a public defender, claiming he didn’t have enough money to pay for an attorney.
His Instagram page is filled with pictures and videos of him enjoying gold jewellery, Rolex watches, expensive food and alcohol, and luxury cars.
He also repeatedly makes references to living the high life and “#Rich N*ggaSh*t”.
One photo shows him holding a large block of cash against his ear is captioned: “Making a phone call to let my bank know am coming.”
A woman thought to be Sarpong’s fiance was seen walking to the courtroom on Wednesday, telling a local TV news crew: “You better get that camera out my face”.
If convicted Sarpong faces up to 20 years in prison.
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