US authorities have sentenced Maryland siblings David Annor and Lesley Annor to prison for conspiracy to launder proceeds of a romance scheme targeting elderly and isolated victims.
Between May 2017 and October 2020, the Annors and a co-conspirator befriended and gained the trust of as many as 200 victims through social media, apps, e-mail and dating websites. They then coerced them into sending money to the bank accounts owned by them or their co-conspirators. The Annors and their co-conspirators then laundered the funds they received from the victims. The conspirators took 10 percent of the funds and sent the rest to co-conspirators in Ghana.
The authorities have sentenced David Annor to three years and Lesley Annor to 20 months in prison. Both will also have to go through three years of supervised release. Additionally, they will have to pay $6,278,250 in restitution of the funds they received fraudulently from their victims.
Source: US Department of Justice