A New York man who pleaded guilty to a romance scam in Wichita has been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay full restitution to his victim.
A Sedgwick County judge gave a three-year probation to 35-year-old Jango Touray of New York City. Touray pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of mistreatment of an elderly person.
An investigation by the District Attorney’s Office identified Touray as the man who received a $100,000 check from a 78-year-old Wichita woman who was widowed and lived alone. The investigation found that the woman had been contacted on social media in late 2020, and she was asked to send money. She believed that she was sending money to a man named “Victor” to help him through financial troubles so they could be together someday.
A financial crimes investigator was able to freeze several financial accounts connected to Touray, who agreed to liquidate those accounts and give the money back to the victim. So far, the victim has recovered about $38,000 of the $110,000 that was taken. The balance of the restitution is to be paid in payments over the next three years.
The DA’s Office is warning residents to be suspicious of requests for money from people they meet online. Elderly residents who live alone can be especially vulnerable to sophisticated romance scammers that use the internet to find, befriend and defraud their victims.
