Protect yourself from these common real estate scams
Real estate scams are on the rise. Here’s how to protect your home and your wallet from the most common cons.
PROVIDENCE – He preyed on the losses of their husbands, their Christian faith, their loneliness and, above all, their inclination to trust.
“You took advantage of goodness,” said U.S. District Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr. in sentencing Wisdom Onyobeno to serve 121 months in prison for a sweeping romance scam that left women, most in their 60s and 70s, in financial tatters, ashamed and reeling emotionally.
McConnell spoke of disbelief that Onyobeno, 44, of Atlanta, continued to perpetrate his crimes and victimize vulnerable senior citizens even after his alleged co-conspirators were arrested.
“I’ve got to assure that you never do this again,” McConnell said. In addition, McConnell said, he must send a message to others inclined to carry out romance scams at a cost of millions in lost retirement benefits and people’s sense of self-assurance and pride.
Romance scam victims, including former RI woman, share their stories
But first, McConnell heard from victims, including a woman whose financial losses forced her to leave Rhode Island.
“I have been permanently changed. … Dating is no longer a viable option,” said Beverly Hawes, a 71-year-old widow living in Florida who had been married to her husband for 49 years before he died.
“Four months after I had begun what I thought was a romantic relationship (including an engagement ring, very cheap), the relationship was over and I was out of $324,650,” she said.
She had to sell a home in Oregon and a motor home, both at a loss, leaving her finances in shambles, she said. To pay off her maxed-out credit cards, she refinanced her home. She’s had problems with the IRS and Social Security, and now is in the path of Hurricane Milton.
“I am basically living hand to mouth each month,” she said, adding “Please pray for me.”
“I know the Lord is going to watch over me,” Hawes said after McConnell urged her to take refuge from the storm.
Another woman in North Carolina, who was still without power after Hurricane Helene, told of her mother dying in 2021 after being victimized by Onyobeno and others.
“I’m mentally exhausted and ready for my mom to rest in peace,” she said. She called for Onyobeno’s deportation back to Nigeria.
“He came to this country to scam and take advantage of vulnerable people,” she said.
Onyobeno cast as ‘unrepentant con man’ in romance scam scheme
In asking that Onyobeno be sentenced to more than 10 years behind bars, Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Barton cast him as an “unrepentant con man” who played a leading role in a romance scam and money-laundering conspiracy involving co-conspirators from across the United States and overseas, including in Nigeria. The scheme targeted and bilked elderly widows and divorcees in Rhode Island and elsewhere of some $5.8 million.
Michael J. Lepizzera Jr., Onyobeno’s lawyer, asked for leniency, citing his clean record, college education and time he has served since his arrest in Georgia in 2019. Lepizzera portrayed other co-conspirators as ringleaders.
“There is no doubt about it. They are victims in the truest sense,” Lepizzera said of the speakers who addressed the court via video.
Onyobeno pleaded guilty in April 2023 to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and wire fraud; in exchange, several charges were dismissed. McConnell ordered him to undergo mental health treatment.
Onyobeno: ‘I have no excuse for what I’ve done’
Authorities allege that Onyobeno and others falsely claimed to be military members stationed abroad and in need of money to send their belongings home or to travel back to the United States. In other cases, prosecutors said they claimed to be stuck on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
The women were instructed to mail checks, money orders or cashier’s checks to post office boxes or to wire money to bank accounts managed by co-conspirators, including Onyobeno himself.
Often, Onyobeno and others convinced the women to send more money, alleging unexpected and urgent circumstances. Other times, they would pose as government officials and tell victims that additional money was needed to deliver parcels that had been sent from overseas, authorities said.
Once the money was transmitted, the group was alleged to have laundered the funds to disguise their origin. Onyobeno and others created business entities and bank accounts into which they would deposit the victims’ money, only to withdraw it. Sums were sent to Nigeria or used to purchase vehicles that were then sent abroad.
Onyobeno begged the victims for forgiveness, saying he reads and rereads their accounts.
“I have no excuse for what I’ve done. … I acted every day in greed,” he said.
A co-defendant, Dominique Golden, is currently serving a 78-month sentence in federal prison.
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