A Zimbabwean woman based in the United States (US), Sherlyn Sims, also known as “Sherlyn Dzinzi,” has been found guilty of conspiring to launder proceeds from romance fraud scams and business email compromise schemes.
The jury delivered the verdict on Tuesday after a five-day trial.
According to the charges and evidence presented in court, Sims and her co-defendants registered sham businesses, opened bank accounts, and received over US$1.2 million in fraud proceeds between December 2019 and August 2020. The funds were quickly transferred, withdrawn, and spent.
Multiple romance fraud victims testified at trial, recounting how they were tricked into sending money to Sims’ accounts. One victim was persuaded to send nearly US$100,000 to help a man she met online, who claimed to be detained by customs officials.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia, Sims and her co-defendants registered sham businesses, including Grace Trading, LLC, a company Sims registered in the state of Georgia.
Grace Trading and the other sham businesses had no legitimate earnings, did not have physical premises, and did not pay wages to employees.
“Once the businesses were registered, business bank accounts were opened in the companies’ names at various financial institutions.
“For instance, two days after Grace Trading became registered with the Georgia Secretary of State, Sims opened business bank accounts at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank and Bank of America.
“Shortly after the accounts were opened, fraud victims were duped into depositing approximately US$200,000 into Grace Trading’s bank accounts.
“Sims quickly wired the fraud proceeds to China and other foreign countries, withdrew cash from the accounts, and transferred or spent the remaining funds.
“Over the following seven months, more than US$1.2 million in fraud proceeds were deposited into these accounts from romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
“One of the incidents involved a scam that tricked a victim into sending the earnest money deposit for the purchase of a new home to Sims’s Grace Trading account.
“Sims was not deterred when the banks closed Grace Trading’s accounts, as she would open a new bank account in the sham business’s name. Sims also used Grace Trading to obtain a fraudulent COVID-loan from the Small Business Administration,” read the statement.
Sims is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5, 2024, alongside co-defendants Bright Eigbedion and Presley Ihimekpen, who have also been convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, part of the Department of Justice Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan stated, “The fraud schemes that Sims perpetrated in this case have become an epidemic in this country.”
He added: “Our vulnerable elderly population are often targeted in these crimes, resulting in significant financial loss and unimaginable emotional suffering.
“The jury’s verdict has ended Sims’s attempts to evade culpability for the role that she played in carrying out these schemes.”
FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley said the case highlights the sophisticated methods used by criminals in digital fraud schemes.
“This case serves as a reminder of the sophisticated methods employed by criminals and the need for vigilance in the digital age,” Farley said.
“The consequences of this type of fraud scheme are far-reaching, affecting not only people here in Georgia, but also around the world.”