ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Marietta man has been convicted of defrauding at least eight women out of more than $3 million in a series of romance scams.
Kenneth Akpieyi, 44, was found guilty of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering on Monday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana handled his case and four-day jury trial.
Akpieyi was part of a scheme where offenders would meet victims, mostly women, on social media and form a romantic bond with them. The perpetrators would often pretend to be generals, philanthropists, entrepreneurs or other figures who lived outside the United States, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
After gaining their trust, the perpetrators would ask for money, claiming a family member was sick or giving another excuse. According to the prosecutors, Akpieyi received the money under the name Phillip Anderson at his Marietta home.
Akpieyi also funneled the money to other accounts through his company, KGA Autobrokers. One day, the U.S. attorney’s office said, he deposited two checks from one victim totaling $300,000 at two banks in Marietta. Funds would also end up in bank accounts in other countries like China and the United Arab Emirates.
Akpieyi will be sentenced on Nov. 5. He faces decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
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