Ghanaian in the US Convicted After Defrauding Top University, Jailed 4 Years
- Dickson Alorwornu, 36, has been convicted of defrauding the University of Connecticut through a tuition refund scam
- The Ghanaian used stolen identities to fraudulently obtain over $62,000 in tuition refunds from multiple universities
- Alorwornu had previously been convicted for similar crimes, including identity theft and credit card fraud in New York
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A 36-year-old Ghanaian, Dickson Alorwornu, has been convicted in the US after he was found guilty of defrauding a popular university.
Alorwornu had been engaged in a tuition refund scam using stolen identities.
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According to the US Attorney's Office in Connecticut, he used stolen credit information to fill these accounts with money and asked for refunds under the guise that he was no longer interested in the courses.
According to the evidence presented during Alorwornu's trial, in December 2017, Alorwornu used other individuals' identities to submit two non-degree student applications to the University of Connecticut.
He then used credit card information that had been stolen from three victims to fund the two student accounts with a total of more than $62,000 in fraudulently obtained funds.
In early 2018, Alorwornu withdrew from the courses and requested that UConn refund the money he had deposited. UConn subsequently transferred approximately $46,000 to bank accounts that Alorwornu controlled.
The investigation revealed that email accounts that Alorwornu used to defraud the University of Connecticut were also used to defraud other universities of more than $500,000.
He had also been arrested on February 1, 2023, and on October 29, 2024, a jury found him guilty of two counts of wire fraud.
The CTInsider reported that Alorwornu had entered the US based on a lie and tried to obtain citizenship based on a sham marriage.
Alorwornu was also convicted in New York state in 2017 for charges related to using stolen credit cards and other people's identities to buy Metro-North rail passes, the US attorney's office said.
Ghanaian business caught in $100m romance scam
This news comes after one Derrick Van Yeboah, a 40-year-old Ghanaian businessman, pleaded guilty in the US to his role in a large-scale online fraud that targeted victims through romance scams and business email compromise, resulting in the alleged theft of over $100 million.
On March 6, the FBI said Van Yeboah admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud before Arun Subramanian, a judge at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Source: Facebook
According to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, the Ghanaian man was part of an international criminal network that defrauded victims across the US.
Ablakwa confirms extradition of Ghanaians to US
Previously, YEN.com.gh reported that the Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, had confirmed that some Ghanaians are facing extradition to the US due to their alleged role in a $100 million fraud scheme.
The confirmation followed reports that Ghana police and the FBI had arrested Ghanaian businessman Kofi Boat for his alleged involvement in a fraud scheme.
The Minister, however, did not narrow down to specifics on the exact date the said persons would be extradited.
Source: YEN.com.gh
