Texas Couple Sentenced in Romance Scam That Targeted Elderly NJ Victim

A Texas man and his girlfriend are headed to prison for their roles in financial romance scams that targeted elderly people, including at least one person from New Jersey.

Late last week, 37-year-old Felix Clark (also known as "Joseph Moore" and "Stanley Smith") of Royse City, TX, was sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Earlier this month, his romantic partner, 34-year-old Esther Amppiaw, also of Royse City, got 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of operating an unlicensed money transmitter business.

How the Romance Scam Targeted Elderly Victims

Federal authorities say that from at least as early as October 2021 through September 2022, while living in Florida, Clark conspired and agreed to receive money from a fraud perpetrated by a co-conspirator in Ghana and transfer the proceeds overseas.

During the scam, one or more of Clark's co-conspirators went onto online dating sites and, using fake names, pretended to be romantically interested in elderly victims, many of whom had just lost their spouses, including saying that they wanted to marry them.

From there, the co-conspirators then conned their victims into sending money. In one example, they were told that there was a large amount of gold in Ghana, but in order to get it, the victim had to pay taxes or fees. The co-conspirators directed the victims to send money to Clark and others acting at his direction, including Amppiaw. Clark used fake names and fake financial accounts under "Joseph Moore" and "Stanley Smith" to transfer the victims' funds.

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Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Lost

During his guilty plea hearing, Clark admitted responsibility for $501,071 in victim losses. He also admitted that after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home, he attempted to obstruct justice by arranging for a falsified death certificate and funeral notice to be submitted to the United States, falsely claiming the death of a family member to get a passport that had been lawfully seized and to which he was not legally entitled.

Amppiaw admitted that she operated an unlicensed money transmitting business from January 2022 through June 2023, while a resident of Delray Beach, FL. Amppiaw also admitted that she knowingly received money totaling $317,290 from individuals she did not know, and that she knowingly transmitted most of the funds to others, including at least one recipient in New Jersey, and also to people overseas, including Ghana. During that time, Amppiaw lied in four separate conversations with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (in her interview for U.S. citizenship), federal law enforcement, and her bank about the nature and amounts of her financial transaction activity.

Clark has already started serving his prison sentence, while Amppiaw will in the near future.

Chris Coleman, a South Jersey native, is the brand manager for WPG Talk Radio 95.5 FM and afternoon on-air personality on WPUR Cat Country 107.3 in Atlantic City, NJ. He joined the station in February 1998 and covers news, events, and stories of interest across Southern New Jersey for Townsquare Media. Story tips: chris.coleman@townsquaremedia.com