Houston Woman Convicted in $3.2M Romance Scam

PROVIDENCE – In a gritty tale of romance fraud, Sadae Mills, 28, of Houston, TX, found herself in federal court in Rhode Island after being convicted for her role in a multistate scheme that defrauded unsuspecting seniors out of more than $3.2 million.

Mills, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, admitted to receiving payments totaling $34,710, which she knew were the fruits of fraudulent internet and app-based romance scams targeting Rhode Island’s elderly population. She would deposit these funds into her bank account and follow instructions from co-conspirator Dominique Golden, 31, of Houston, TX, to withdraw or transfer the proceeds.

G golden was sentenced in January 2023 to 78 months in federal prison for his involvement in the conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. His sentence also includes three years of supervised release and a restitution order for $1,263,822.54.

Co-conspirator Breauna Williams, 29, of Jacksonville, NC, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Williams is scheduled for sentencing on April 18, 2023.

The trial of Wisdom Oghenekaro Onyobeno, 42, of Atlanta, GA, and Syretta Scherer, 41, also of Atlanta, GA, is set to begin on May 1, 2023. Onyobeno has been in custody since his arrest in November 2019.

Mills is expected to be sentenced on May 23, 2023. Her sentence will be determined by a federal district judge following the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The investigation into this case was led by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with support from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, and U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration in Atlanta.

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