WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A New York man was sentenced in Sedgwick County District Court Friday for his role in a “romance scam” that the district attorney’s office said defrauded a 78-year-old Wichita woman out of more than $100,000.
“Jango Touray, 35 of New York City, pled guilty earlier this year to the felony crime of Mistreatment of an Elder Person. Touray was placed on a three-year probation and ordered to pay full restitution to his victim. If Touray violates his probation or fails to pay restitution, he could serve the 34-month prison sentence imposed by District Court Judge Jeffrey Syrios,” Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett explained in a news release.
Scams like the one that targeted 78-year-old Barbara O’Connor start as innocent as a friend request on social media or an email from someone claiming to be an old friend before taking a dangerous turn.
“Weekly, I get a friend request from some good-looking man somewhere, never here in Wichita, but he’s always far away and he wants to be my friend,” O’Connor said of how the scam started.
O’Connor said she thought she was sending money to someone named Victor to help him through financial problems, a gesture she thought would eventually bring them together. Bennett said romance scams like this happen regularly, but catching the scammer is rare.
“They’re not next-door neighbors, it’s all behind a screen,” he said. “They could be anywhere, so first of all, we have to find where they live.”
Once scammers are found, getting the money back can be next to impossible, Bennett warned.
“If they’re still there, we can figure out who they are, but what about the money? A lot of them I think, more to the point, launder it by sending it through a series of other accounts,” he said.
Empowered Seniors President Katherine Ambrose said the best way to protect yourself is to be skeptical online.
“You just have to be cautious and suspicious,’ he said. “We don’t want you to be worried about being online, but just know you want to be sure these are real people, and they could be using real photographs they snagged from other places,” Ambrose said.
Bennett advised that if you experience a scam, you should report it to the DA’s office. Any information could help to get your money back, or at least prevent other scams in the future.
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