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Cyber-Footsie Scammers From NJ, MD, VA Swindle $7 Million From Mostly Elderly Victims, Feds Say

Mostly elderly victims across the United States were conned out of a whopping $7 million by a quartet of romance scammers from New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia – all of whom were arrested by the FBI, authorities said.

Four online romance scammers from three states conned mostly elderly victims out of more than $7 million, federal authorities said.

Four online romance scammers from three states conned mostly elderly victims out of more than $7 million, federal authorities said.

 Photo Credit: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
Jerry DeMarco

The victims sent the money to the imposters thinking that they were helping out love interests, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

They lost a lot.

Arrested this past week, Sellinger said, were:

  • Nana Yaw Marfo, 37, of Virginia, who was accused of receiving at least $4.7 million;
  • Chevon Braxton, 42, of Maryland, who was accused of collecting at least $1.3 million;
  • William Kwabena Goeh, 47, of Somerset, who was accused of receiving at least $530,000;
  • Shannon Braxton, 45, of Maryland, who was accused of pocketing at least $500,000.

The defendants “used bank accounts and accounts at credit unions to launder the proceeds,” Sellinger said.

The Braxtons withdrew a large portion of the fraud proceeds as cash, while Goeh and Marfo wired thousands of dollars overseas, including to accounts in China, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Singapore, and Mauritius, the U.S. attorney said.

All four were seized in their home states and remain free on bond, charged with money laundering conspiracy.

Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI in Newark and Cleveland, special agents of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General in Chicago and the U.S. Secret Service with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio for its assistance in the case, which is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie L. Hoxie of his Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

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