Linden, NJ gentleman stole more than $300K in ‘romance rip-off,’ feds say

A New Jersey man allegedly questioned an on line sufferer to transfer amounts of $100,000 or a lot more to him, on far more than a person occasion, underneath untrue passionate pretenses and the assure of a “box of valuables,” according to a criticism submitted by the U.S. Attorney’s Business in Newark.

Eseosa Obaseki, 36, of Linden, was arrested at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and designed an preliminary court physical appearance in Texas on Monday, then was introduced pending his very first court docket visual appearance in New Jersey.

Acting U.S. Legal professional Rachael A. Honig, in a launch, reported Obaseki, the proprietor of New Jersey-dependent MKO Deliveries Inc., created the acquaintance of the sufferer, a feminine Washington state resident, on an world wide web-based term match in the spring of 2019. That summer, around a independent, internet-based communications system, Obaseki is alleged to have begun inquiring the sufferer for funds, making rely on by displaying passionate interest in the victim.

According to the criticism, Obaseki additional stated that the dollars would be for enterprise bills and shipping charges linked with a “box of valuables” he meant to send to the victim.

On Jan. 9, 2020, the victim organized for a $100,000 wire transfer into a lender account held by Obaseki, which only experienced $.41 in it at the time. A next wire transfer, of $210,000, was built on Feb. 6, 2020.

The complaint alleges that Obaseki systematically drained his account subsequent each transfers by a series of