A United States court has sentenced 37-year-old Nigerian man, Adetomiwa Seun Akindele, to 71 months (over 5 years) in federal prison for defrauding a Colorado widow of $1.6 million in a romance scam.

The sentencing, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, also ordered Akindele to repay $1.69 million in restitution and forfeit the same amount. After serving his prison term in Minnesota, he will be deported back to Nigeria.

According to court documents, the fraud began in January 2018, when Akindele created a fake identity as “Frank Labato,” a supposed wealthy Italian-American businessman, on a dating website. By March 2018, he had won the trust of his victim, a widowed woman, through emails, phone calls, and doctored photos to support his fake persona.

Akindele later claimed he was facing a financial crisis abroad and persuaded the woman to send him money. At his instruction, she opened a cryptocurrency account and wired over $1.6 million, which Akindele laundered through crypto exchanges before depositing into his personal bank accounts.

To maintain the illusion, he issued three fake promissory notes, falsely assuring the victim that she would be repaid.

“This sentence both serves justice to the victim and helps prevent this individual from scamming someone else,” said U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly. He urged the public to be cautious when dealing with people online, especially those requesting money.

The FBI Denver Field Office, which led the investigation, described the case as an example of how romance scammers prey on emotions to exploit unsuspecting victims.

United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the sentencing.