On 5 March 2026 a federal court in Iowa sentenced the Connecticut man behind Alpha Distributions LLC to nine years; romance victims had sent him over $1.5 million (US Attorney, Iowa). On 22 July his codefendant got 70 months; her company, a garment maker by her account, took in over $1.6 million (US Attorney, Iowa). In both cases victims paid "at the request of their purported romantic partners".
On 28 September a Massachusetts man was convicted in Newark of laundering about $1.2 million through his own accounts and Dazionking LLC (US Attorney, New Jersey).
What is a romance scam?
A romance scam is one of the deception frauds in what fraud is. The FBI's definition reads: "In romance scams, a criminal uses a fake online identity to gain a victim's affection and trust."
For UK Finance, the victim "is persuaded to make a payment to a person they have met, often online through social media or dating websites" (Annual Fraud Report 2026, p. 39). The FBI's IC3 2025 report counts it under Confidence/Romance, a category that also holds the grandparent scheme (p. 59).
Romance fraud means the same thing: a deceptive relationship used to move money.
"Romance victims often defend the scammer to their bank, so the conversation that works is about the payee's account, how old it is and who else pays into it, not about the relationship," says Ufuk Gürdaş, Compliance Specialist.
What do common romance scam examples look like, type by type?
Table 1. Common romance scam examples and types.
| Type | The story | Where the money goes | The check that exposes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catfishing | A fake online identity, often with a photo used elsewhere under another name (FBI, FTC) | Whatever the relationship later asks for | A reverse image search of the profile photo (FTC) |
| Advance fee scam | A fee stands between the couple and a meeting: a visa, a plane ticket, a fee to get out of trouble (FTC) | Wires, gift cards, payment apps | Who the payee is: a fee for a stranger's crisis, paid to a stranger |
| Sweetheart scam | A long courtship, then repeated requests for help (UK Finance) | Many payments to the same new payee | The count of payments to that payee |
| Fake inheritance scam | An inheritance from an unknown relative, waiting to be collected (IC3 glossary) | Fees paid up front to release it | A call to the estate's lawyer on a number found independently |
| Malware scam | The partner asks for remote access to the victim's devices, for example to open crypto accounts in the victim's name (FinCEN) | Accounts opened in the victim's name | No remote access or app installs at a contact's request |
| Intimate activity scam | Requests for inappropriate photos that could later be used to extort (FBI) | Payments to stop a threat; IC3 counts extortion as its own crime type | Stop all contact and report it (FBI) |
| Pro daters | A real person who dates or chats for gifts, meals and money, with no relationship intended | Gifts, bills and cash | Who pays for what, and how soon the asks start |
| Crypto investment (pig butchering) | The partner introduces an investment on a site or app the scammer controls (FinCEN) | Cryptocurrency to the scammer's addresses | A demand for "taxes" or fees before a withdrawal (FinCEN) |
In 2022 reports to the FTC, a faraway military base was the most popular excuse for never meeting, and "offshore oil rig worker" another common fake job (FTC Data Spotlight, 9 February 2023).
Which tactics do romance scammers use?
Picture a widower who meets "Anna" on a dating app (names and amounts illustrative).
- Contact. Anna writes first and soon asks to move to email or a messaging app, a switch the FTC warns about.
- Grooming. Weeks of daily messages. She says she runs a construction project abroad, which explains why she cannot meet (FBI).
- Crisis. A visa, a hospital bill, a plane ticket: problems UK Finance lists.
- First payment. $400 for the visa.
- Repeat. A legal fee, then another ticket. Ten payments rise from $400 to $10,000, $41,300 in all. UK Finance counted 9.7 payments on average per romance scam in 2025, "usually targeting smaller amounts to begin with", across 6,335 cases and £39.2 million lost.
- Payout. Wires, gift cards, payment apps or cryptocurrency (FTC), or a company account like the three above.
Which romance scam red flags can the victim and the bank see?
In the relationship:
- A lover even before first sight. Scammers want a relationship "as quickly as possible" (FBI).
- Reluctant to meet in person. Months without a meeting give "good reason to be suspicious" (FBI).
- Requests for money. Never pay someone known only online or by phone (FBI).
- Inconsistencies in stories. A profile photo tied to another name (FTC).
- Avoidant of video calls or personal information. A live video call is the cheapest check.
- Pressure or guilt trips. Scammers want you to pay immediately (FTC).
- Unusual behavior or language. Scripts from AI chat generators (IC3, p. 39).
- Asking for personal information. Financial details could later be used to extort you (FBI).
For the bank, FinCEN's pig butchering alert of 8 September 2023 includes:
- No crypto history, then large sums sent to a crypto platform.
- Savings or a certificate of deposit cashed before maturity, then wired to a crypto platform.
- Small trial transfers, then large wires to LLCs or people never paid before.
- Payments noted as "taxes", "fees" or "penalties".
Romance scam, pig butchering or money mule recruitment: what is the difference?
One fake partner can pitch an investment or ask the victim to move money. The Alpha Distributions defendant also coached a recruit to set up a sham company and bank accounts for victims' money.
What is pig butchering, and how is it different from a romance scam?
FinCEN's "Sha Zhu Pan" scams resemble "fattening a hog before slaughter" and can "begin as" romance scams in certain cases. The difference is the ask. A romance scammer invents a crisis; a pig butcherer sells an investment on a fake platform, shows invented returns, then charges "taxes" or fees to withdraw.
How can a romance scam victim become a money mule?
Glenda, aged 81, tells in an FBI video how a romance scam made her a money mule; she pleaded guilty to two federal crimes on 2 November 2021. IC3's category covers victims tricked "to launder money or items to assist the perpetrator" (p. 59). If a contact needs your bank account to deposit money, the FBI says, they are "most likely using your account to carry out other theft and fraud schemes". Forwarding that money makes the victim a money mule.
Which US and UK laws do prosecutors use against romance scams?
Table 2. Romance scam law by jurisdiction.
| Jurisdiction | Law | Conduct it reaches | Maximum penalty or remedy |
|---|---|---|---|
| US, federal | 18 U.S.C. 1343, wire fraud | Using wire, radio or TV messages across state or national lines to carry out a scheme to defraud | A fine, 20 years, or both; if it affects a financial institution, a fine up to $1,000,000, 30 years, or both |
| US, federal | 18 U.S.C. 1956, money laundering | A financial transaction in the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, for example to promote the crime or hide where the money came from; a conspiracy draws the same penalties (1956(h)) | A fine up to $500,000 or twice the value involved, 20 years, or both |
| US, federal | 18 U.S.C. 1957 | A monetary transaction over $10,000 in property derived from specified unlawful activity | A fine, 10 years, or both |
| US, federal | FinCEN alert of 8 September 2023 | Asks financial institutions to put the key term FIN-2023-PIGBUTCHERING in suspicious activity reports | A filing instruction, with no penalty of its own |
| UK: England, Wales and Northern Ireland | Fraud Act 2006, section 2 (false representation) | A dishonest false representation "as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind" of a person | 10 years, a fine, or both, on indictment (section 1, s1(3)(b)) |
| Scotland | Common law fraud | Scottish statistics count common law and statutory fraud (gov.scot) | Outside the Fraud Act 2006 |
| United Kingdom | PSR reimbursement rules, from 7 October 2024 | APP fraud by Faster Payments or CHAPS from one UK account to another, romance scams included | Up to £85,000; report within 13 months; optional £100 excess; no refund if the victim was complicit, or grossly negligent and not vulnerable; sending and receiving firms split the cost 50:50 (PSR) |
The Iowa man was sentenced for wire fraud and money laundering. Manaseh Mintah, in Newark, was convicted of laundering conspiracy, laundering and running an unlicensed money transmitting business, with maxima of 20 and 10 years on the laundering counts. In the UK the PSR rules decide who pays the victim back, the receiving firm paying half.
How do you avoid, identify and report a romance scam?
Avoiding one starts with pace. To protect yourself, go slowly, ask questions and research the person's photo and profile (FBI); talk to someone you trust and search the claimed job plus "scammer" (FTC). Send no money to a partner you have not met. The same checks apply to online and in person romance scams.
After identifying one, stop contact, tell your bank or payment company right away and ask for a refund (FTC). Then report it to IC3 at ic3.gov, ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the app. In England and Wales, reports go to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025 (ONS).
Where do the sending and receiving banks catch a romance scam?
The victim's bank sees it first: a second, larger payment to a payee added days earlier, the moment to call and ask about that account. The receiving bank sees a company account fed by unrelated individuals, as Alpha Distributions LLC's was. Its AML team checks the owner for adverse media and can file a suspicious activity report; how fraud detection works covers both checks.
At complead, formerly Sanction Scanner, a customer's fraud and AML signals sit on one record with one risk score. Its bank transaction fraud monitoring scores each inbound and outbound transfer before it completes and checks the payer, the payee and any intermediary bank; the fraud team holds, blocks or releases it.
The three company accounts in the opening now sit in court records. In the Iowa cases, victims paid them believing the money would help unite them with a partner.
Related terms
- Money mule. Someone who moves criminal money.
- APP fraud. A scam that tricks a person into paying.
- Impersonation fraud. Posing as a trusted person or body.
- Ponzi scheme. Paying old investors with new money.
- Identity fraud. Using another person's identity details.
- Phishing. Fake messages that steal logins.
