The ring allegedly bilked more than 200 mostly elderly victims out of $2.5 million, prosecutors say
For one starstruck fan in Arizona, it was like a dream come true: heartthrob Australian actor Chris Hemsworth had reached out on Facebook wanting to meet.
Federal prosecutors say the fraud was part of a broad romance scam ring centered around West Virginia, that involved at least two former Marshall University students, one of whom became a professional soccer player, and a group of Nigerian and Ghanian nationals living around the U.S. Nine of them were indicted in June.
Thorpe then would wire the money back to the other defendants and keep a portion for himself, according to his plea agreement. A civil engineering student from Washington, D.C., Thorpe told prosecutors he wasn’t aware of the full scope of the fraud but knew his co-conspirators were up to something nefarious.
Messages left for attorneys for Thorpe and Osumanu weren’t immediately returned and a spokeswoman for Marshall had no immediate comment.
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