Woman sentenced to over 6 years in prison for involvement in romantic scams

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) – A Texas woman who played a role in an internet scam that defrauded victims of a total of about $2.6 million was sentenced Wednesday to six years in prison on federal fraud and conspiracy charges.

Dominique Golden, 31, of Houston, personally collected about $1.3 million in cash, checks, money orders and wire transfers from people across the U.S. in 2018, which was transferred to bank accounts set up in the names of fake people and businesses that she controlled, according to the prosecutor’s office. in Rhode Island said. In September, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Her sentence will be served concurrently with a nearly 4.5-year sentence she began in 2020 in Georgia on an unrelated conspiracy conviction. Her lawyer asked not to serve additional time, saying that she had cooperated with the authorities and was remorseful.

According to prosecutors, Golden’s alleged accomplices contacted the victims through online dating sites, Facebook and Words with Friends, built relationships and convinced the victims that they needed money. The victims were in Rhode Island, New York, Arkansas, Colorado, North Carolina, Missouri and Florida.

Golden knew other members of the conspiracy were contacting the victims for the sole purpose of committing fraud, prosecutors said.

According to her plea agreement, that she will return the money, Golden will forfeit the assets obtained from her criminal behavior, including two luxury cars, three pistols, three Rolex watches and a gold chain with a coin-shaped diamond pendant, prosecutors said. .