A fraudster engaged in a romance scam, contributing to the defrauding of a woman of $1.2 million, has been sentenced to prison and directed to reimburse the stolen funds.

 A Texan implicated in a romance scam, which defrauded a Missouri woman of $1.2 million, was sentenced to three years in federal prison and instructed to reimburse the funds. Rotimi Oladimeji, 38, from Richardson, Texas, received the sentence a year after pleading guilty to charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Oladimeji, along with two accomplices, targeted the victim on the "Silver Singles" online dating platform, posing as a Belgian veterinarian residing in St. Louis. Despite making plans to meet, they never followed through. The scammers fabricated a story about the man being trapped in the United Arab Emirates due to a business deal, soliciting money from the victim. Federal prosecutors revealed that the victim suffered a loss of nearly $1.2 million. While Oladimeji received approximately 20% of the funds, he is obligated to fully repay the victim unless his co-defendants contribute to the restitution, as stated by U.S. Attorney’s office spokesperson Robert Patrick.

Oladimeji was born in Nigeria and could be deported after his release from prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

Olumide Akrinmade and Adewale Adesanya also have pleaded guilty to federal charges. Akrinmade was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to repay $46,500. Adesanya was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to repay $1.5 million for various fraud schemes