Nigerians scammed a Texas woman, 63, who believed she was dating BRUNO MARS in Instagram catfishing con is swindled out of $100,000 after she fell in love with the ‘singer’ and agreed to pay his touring expenses
Chinwendu Azuonwu, 39, appeared in a Houston court on Tuesday after he and Basil Amadi, 29, were charged with money laundering
According to Harris County prosecutors, the two men scammed a 63-year-old woman out of $100,000 after tricking her into believing they were Bruno Mars
The woman communicated with the men online through Instagram and Google Hangout thinking that she was talking to the 11-time Grammy Award winner
Investigators said the woman ‘fell in love’ with ‘Mars’ and was duped into thinking he was going to retire from his concert tour in order to be with her
‘Mars’ also asked the woman to deposit $100,000 into bank accounts as a way of helping the singer cover his tour expenses, according to investigators
If convicted, two men each face between two and 10 years in state prison. Bail for Azuonwu was set at $30,000. No arrest information for Amadi was available.
Alleged fraudster Chinwendu Azuonwu,39, a Nigerian national and permanent resident of Houston, appeared in court on Tuesday accused of impersonating Mars on Instagram as part of the scam to swindle the victim out of her savings.
Azuonwu, charged with third-degree felony money laundering, was taken into custody this week, KPRC-TV reported.
In court documents, his co-conspirator was identified as Basil Amadi, 29. Information about Amadi’s arrest record was not available as of Wednesday morning.
The victim, a resident of North Richland Hills, Texas, told police that in 2018 she created a profile on Instagram ‘in search of companionship.’
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