On November 26, 2024, Wigbert Bandie, 34, currently of Accra, Ghana, was sentenced to 63 months by United States District Judge, the Honorable Thomas A. Varlan, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville. Following his incarceration, Bandie will be on supervised release for three years. Bandie was also ordered to repay $2.18 million in restitution to the 11 victims in this case.
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Bandie pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1349 and 1343.
According to the filed court papers, Bandie, along with members of the conspiracy, assumed false identities on social media, dating websites, and other internet-based platforms in a scheme to trick primarily elderly victims into entering friendships and romantic relationships. Bandie then played various roles in exploiting those connections to convince individuals to send them money via wire, check, U.S. mail, and package delivery services.
As part of the conspiracy, romance scammers or “handlers” posed as potential friends or romantic partners and entered online relationships with unwitting victims, many of whom were elderly. The relationships usually developed quickly through social media contact, text messages, email, and phone calls. Once the victim was clearly engaged in the scam, the scammer would begin to ask for emergency financial assistance or dupe victims into non-existent investment opportunities. If the victim sent money, the scammer would ask for increasingly larger amounts of financial assistance. There were victims throughout the United States who each lost amounts ranging from several thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. For example, one victim who resided in the Eastern District of Tennessee lost over $280,000 to this scheme over the course of several months.
Other co-conspirators functioned as “money mules” in the conspiracy. That is, they worked in conjunction with other members of the conspiracy to move the financial proceeds of the scams from the United States overseas through bank wire transfers or through the mail.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee; and Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico of the FBI made the announcement.
The criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This investigation was led by FBI Special Agent Matthew R. Short.
Assistant United States Attorney Suzanne H. Sullivan represented the United States.
(justice.gov)