HARRISBURG , PENNSYLVANIA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on December 9, 2020, Kelvin Aggrey-Arthur, age 27, formerly of Newark, New Jersey, and Ibrahim Adam, age 32, formerly of New York City, were indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and conspiring to commit wire fraud.
According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, the indictment alleges that from June 2018 through March 2020, Aggrey-Arthur, Adam, and others perpetrated a romance scam in which they developed online relationships with victims and then requested that those victims send them money for various reasons, including travel, medical treatment, housing, and schooling. The indictment further alleges that during the course of the scam, the co-conspirators attempted to obtain over $160,000 from victims.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Susquehanna Township Police Department, and the Dauphin County Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlo D. Marchioli is prosecuting the case.
Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalty under federal law for each of the charged crimes is 20 years’ imprisonment. The maximum penalty also includes a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.