In September 2019 Greenwich Police received a complaint of a possible “Sweetheart Scam” targeting an 87-year-old resident.
Police say the victim’s bank notified them after noticing several suspicious wire transfers from the victim’s account.
The investigator met with the victim and she related that some time in 2019 she was contacted via a social media platform by a person named “Bernard Slack.”
“Slack” told the victim that he worked on an oil rig and was a handsome older man. The victim befriended “Slack” and they frequently communicated via the internet on an app called “Hangout.”
Police say that at some point “Slack” professed his love for the victim and began asking for money for machinery relating to a new business in the amount of $200,000.
The victim believed him and started sending money via wire transfers.
A lengthy investigation ensued, and it turned out that “Bernard Slack” was actually Kayode Ogunjimi of Oswego, IL. Police say during his scheme Mr. Oginjimi, a black male, sent images of an older white male to the victim and portrayed himself as “Bernard Slack.”
Mr. Ogunjimi was able to get the victim to “fall in love” with him, and then had the victim wire money into bank accounts for numerous different companies, ultimately winding up in his possessions.
The total amount of money the victim wired was in excess of $200,000.
On June 8, Detective James Manning applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. Ogunjimi. The warrant was signed in Stamford Superior Court, and on June 12 Ogunjimi was arrested by the Arlington Heights, Illinois Police Dept and extradited to Greenwich.
Mr. Ogunjimi, 30, was charged with Larceny in the First Degree. His bond was set at $300,000, which he was unable to post. He was arraigned on July 2, 2020.