Wenslus Murape
A ZIMBABWEAN fraudster, who led a criminal syndicate which lured some Americans to part with huge sums of money after being duped into believing they were in genuine romantic relationships, has been found guilty of money laundering in the United States.
Sherlyn Sims, also known as Sherlyn Dzinzi, ran the syndicate which, among other crimes, was involved in romance scams.
This has become a lucrative underworld business and in 2022 more than 70 000 Americans fell into its trap and were duped more than US$1.3 billion.
A Long Island victim lost US$460 000 and was then scammed another US$68 000 when she went online to look for help to try and get her money back.
Following a five-day trial in Atlanta, Georgia, Sherlyn Sims was found guilty by a jury of conspiring to launder, and laundering, proceeds generated from numerous romance fraud scams and business email compromise schemes.
Sherlyn, 33, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5.
She was found guilty by a federal jury on July 31, 2024.
These computer-enabled crimes resulted in more than US$1.2 million being diverted to bank accounts controlled by Sherlyn, after which she quickly transferred, withdrew, and spent the funds.
“The fraud schemes that Sims perpetrated in this case have become an epidemic in this country,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan.
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court, Sims was charged with conspiracy and money laundering related to the receipt of funds stolen from dozens of victims between December 2019 and August 2020.
Sherlyn and her co-defendants registered sham businesses, including Grace Trading, LLC, a company Sims registered in the state of Georgia.
Grace Trading and the other sham businesses had no legitimate earnings, did not have physical premises, and did not pay wages to employees.
Shortly after the accounts were opened, fraud victims were duped into depositing approximately US$200,000 into Grace Trading’s bank accounts.
Sherlyn quickly wired the fraud proceeds to China and other foreign countries, withdrew cash from the accounts, and transferred or spent the remaining funds.
Over the following seven months, more than US$1.2 million in fraud proceeds were deposited into these accounts from romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
Multiple romance fraud victims testified at trial.
The victims recounted how they met male strangers online and were soon convinced they were in a romantic relationship with the men, even though the victims were in communication with the individuals for months without meeting in person.
Often these men claimed that they wanted to start a life with the victims and were eager to live with them as soon as some kind of issue was resolved.
For example, one romance fraud victim was persuaded to send nearly US$100 000 to one of Sherlyn’s accounts because her boyfriend (one of the men online) claimed that he was traveling to Boston but had been detained by customs officials and would not be released until his taxes were paid. – US AG/H-Metro Reporter
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