Online romance scheme leads to guilty plea from Clay County woman
The Department of Justice said that a Clay County woman has pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in an online romance scam.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced on Tuesday that Iona K. Coates, 67, Orange Park, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to court documents, Coates met two individuals in 2020 through an online dating website. After providing her bank account information to the victims, money began flowing into her account. Coates then moved the money to unknown individuals.
The United States Secret Service (USSS) contacted Coates to explain she was acting as a “money mule” in an online romantic scheme.
Read: Mission ‘Bait-and-Switch’ says Ex-Florida State Guardsman; Recruit reports assault at Camp Blanding
”As part of the scheme, criminals acting as fake suitors on dating websites developed relationships and convinced victims to send money to Coates’s bank account. Coates, in turn, sent the money to criminals,” the Department of Justice said in a news release.
During the December 2020 meeting, the USSS told Coates to stop participating in the scam. However, she ignored the warning and continued to funnel money from her account.
“Between December 2020 through September 2021, she received $229,376.26 into her bank accounts from victims targeted in the online romance scheme,” the DOJ said.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Coates faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and restitution payment to victims related to the case.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
