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Olutade Adeyemi Gboyega, of Stamford, was arrested on Friday, May 3, by Wilton Police after receiving a call from the Wilton Post Office about a possible shipment of a large amount of money to a vacant house in Wilton, which was linked to a romance scam in Mississippi, said Wilton Police Lt. Robert Kluk.
The scam involves the suspect meeting the victim on a dating website and after gaining their trust through a fake relationship they are able to obtain personal information, including banking information from the victim, Kluk said.
Once that occurs, the scammer is able to get the victim to send large sums of money or they can steal the money from the victim's account, said Kluk.
After receiving the information regarding the delivery of cash, the police department set up surveillance on the vacant home and apprehended Gboyega when he picked up the package from the residence, Kluk said.
The package that he thought he was picking up contained more than $23,000 in cash, he added.
Olutade is from Nigeria and is in the United States on a work visa and claimed to be picking up the package from his brother who lives in Nigeria, Kluk said.
He was transported to the Wilton Police Department where he was held on $50,000 bond. He was released on Sunday, May 5, by the Bail Commission and is scheduled to appear in court on May 17.
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