A Georgia man was charged with three counts of wire fraud this month for allegedly being a part of a romantic scam that left a San Francisco victim out of more than $100,000, according to the Department of Justice's Northern District of California.
Another man, using the name Allen Green, developed a relationship with the female victim electronically starting in April 2018. Green told the victim that he had traveled to Bahrain and was having financial issues, when in fact, he was in Nigeria, according to an indictment filed July 18.
Green introduced Franklin Efijemueh, 37, going by the name Rashad Cosmos, to the victim.
Green allegedly told the victim that Cosmos could provide the victim with money. Efijemueh, under the Cosmos moniker, said he would travel to San Francisco to give the victim money if she would pay him in advance.
The two met in a hotel room, where Efijemueh also asked the victim to bring additional cash.
Efijemueh told the victim that a safe he had with him contained large amounts of currency, but that the cash would have to be cleaned before it was used. Efijemueh said he could clean the currency for a fee, which the victim also appears to have sent him. The safe actually contained mostly pillows.
According to the indictment, the total allegedly amount lost by the victim is $111,400. This, however, does not take into account cash handed over to Efijemueh at the hotel.
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Efijemueh first appeared in court in Atlanta and was released on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court in San Francisco on Aug. 9.
