With therapy dog at side, Meadville woman, 68, sentenced for Nigeria-related mail fraud

A 68-year-old Meadville woman with arthritis and other chronic health problems — including anxiety severe enough that she had an emotional support dog with her in court — has been sentenced to two years of probation for acting as a go-between in a multi-layered mail fraud scheme that federal prosecutors said originated in Nigeria.

The defendant, Diana Eckert, got involved in the scams after she was duped into believing a Nigerian she met on Facebook was in love with her, the defense said according to court records.

Eckert also has mental issues, and she sees herself "as slower than most," according to the records.

Eckert received the sentence of probation in U.S. District Court in Erie on Thursday as she cradled the support dog, which is small enough for her to hold in her lap.

Eckert risked going to prison or getting house arrest, but U.S. Judge Susan Paradise Baxter referred to her "marginal health" and gave her probation and a warning not to end up at the federal courthouse in Erie in the future.

"I am sorry for my actions," Eckert said. "It is never going to happen again."

Eckert pleaded guilty in September to one felony count each of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and making a false statement to a postal inspector. With the plea, she admitted to being involved in three kinds of fraud: romance scams, car-buying scams and scams to put advertising decals on cars, according to court records. The scams occurred between May 2020 to July 2021.

Eckert received money from victims, converted the funds into bitcoin and remitted the funds "to accounts controlled by co-conspirators located in Nigeria," according to the indictment returned against her in 2021.

The indictment alleged Eckert worked with the unknown co-conspirators in Nigeria to victimize people throughout the United States. The Nigerians induced the victims to send money to Eckert through the U.S. mail, and Eckert sent the bitcoin-converted funds to Nigeria, according to the indictment.

The federal sentencing guidelines recommended that Eckert get eight to 14 months in federal prison, but probation was also an option.

The Federal Public Defender's Office cited Eckert's health problems and asked for a year of probation. The U.S. Attorney's Office asked for house arrest, arguing that Eckert knew that she was engaging in fraud and ignored at least three warnings from postal inspectors that she was involved in scams. The office said postal inspectors launched the probe against Eckert after noticing that she was receiving multiple packages in which she was accepting money from possible fraud victims.

"Ms. Eckert was told several times that she was essentially involved in money laundering," the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bengel, of Pittsburgh, said in court. "It is hard to sustain the view that Ms. Eckert did not know what she was doing."

Defense says a lonely Eckert got caught up in scams after divorce

The defense blamed Eckert's romantic woes for some her problems.

Eckert, a mother of two adult children with no prior record, got involved in the scams sometime after 2017, when she separated from her second husband, whom she later divorced, her lawyer, Summer Akhtar, a staff attorney with the Federal Public Defender's Office in Pittsburgh, said in a sentencing memorandum. The memo also states that Eckert considers herself "slower than most" and that she cares for her elderly mother.

After Eckert separated from her second husband, according to the memo, she "met a 35-year-old man on Facebook. They began messaging and Ms. Eckert believed they were in a romantic relationship with one another.

"They made plans to be together after he finished a military operation in Nigeria, and after several year of 'developing' their relationship, he convinced Ms. Eckert to move funds that he received from the scams. Regrettably, she agreed."

The memo also states that Eckert's divorce from her second husband, though amicable, left a "void," and "that void, along with a life consumed by mental and physical pain, as well as Ms. Eckert's 'slower' comprehension, left her vulnerable to those who took advantage of her."

3 scams lead to prosecution for Eckert

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, known as IC3, logs thousands of complaints a year about the types of frauds that Eckert pleaded guilty to being a part of. The FBI has also focused on Nigerian nationals as it investigates the scams.

According to the indictment, Eckert participated in:

• A "romance scam," in which victims — often older people whose spouses have died — are tricked into sending money to phony romantic partners they meet online. One person mailed Eckert a personal check for $6,000 in November 2020, according to the indictment.

• A "decal scam," in which victims send money to enter into fake deals to make money by having a company install advertising decals on cars. Eckert defrauded three victims with this scam. One victim sent Eckert $1,000 in cash in August 2020, another sent a $4,000 money order in September 2020 and the third victim sent $2,400 in cash in March, according to the indictment.

• A "car-buying scam," in which victims send money to buy vehicles that don't exist. One victim mailed Eckert an $11,900 check in July 2021, according to the indictment.

As part of her sentence, Eckert must pay a total of $7,652 in restitution to three victims. The final amount of restitution was based on how much the victims had lost in the case, according to calculations that the government and defense agreed upon.

Judge Baxter ordered Eckert to pay restitution using $60 a month from her monthly Social Security benefits of $898 a month.

Eckert accepted the sentence as she sat at the defense table holding her therapy dog, which was quiet throughout the hearing. Other than her lawyers, no one showed up in court on Eckert's behalf.

Eckert told Baxter she would stay out of trouble.

"I never anticipate coming in this room again," she said.

Guilty plea: Nigerian online scams are everywhere. This case led to guilty plea in Erie federal court

Charges filed: Indictment alleges Meadville woman, 66, used 'romance scam,' other fraud in case tied to Nigeria

Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Nigerian scams lead to sentence for 68-year-old Meadville woman