Romance Scam

⏱ 2 min read

Lori Ann Kimball, a 52-year-old woman from Castle Rock, Colorado, was involved in a large-scale romance scam that targeted victims across the country. From January 2023 to at least February 2025, Kimball conspired with others to move proceeds of mail and wire fraud to Nigeria. The scam, known as a ‘pig butchering scheme,’ involved using fictitious identities to build trust with victims on social media and dating apps, before inducing them to send money via wire transfers, checks, or virtual currency.

Kimball was initially a victim of the scam herself, but she soon became a participant, laundering money received from other victims. Despite being warned by local law enforcement about her activities, Kimball continued to carry out illegal financial transactions, transferring over $3.4 million to cryptocurrency accounts in her own name before sending the funds to digital wallets held by individuals in Nigeria.

Kimball used at least 20 bank accounts and seven cryptocurrency accounts to facilitate the scam, and provided false information to banks and cryptocurrency exchanges to conceal her activities. Her actions resulted in a sentence of one year and one day in federal prison, as well as an order to pay $3,112,990.13 in restitution.

The case highlights the dangers of online scams and the importance of being cautious when interacting with people on social media and dating apps. As United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly noted, ‘I urge all Coloradans to use caution when placing their trust in people they meet online, especially when those people ask for money.’