Texas Man & His Girlfriend Plead Guilty To Roles In Romance Fraud Scheme
Monday, June 9, 2025, 8:15 A.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges: Englebrook Independent News,
CAMDEN, NJ.- A 36-year-old Keller, Texas, man is facing up to 40 years in federal prison, and his 33-year-old Keller, Texas, girlfriend is facing up to five years in federal prison after the two pleaded guilty last month for their roles bilking elderly victims out of over a half a million dollars through a romance fraud scheme and transferring the proceeds of the scheme Ghana.
According to U.S. Attorney Alina Habba, on May 6, 2025, Felix Clark, also known as “Joseph Moore” and “Stanley Smith,” 36, of Keller, Texas, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Renee Marie Bumb to a two-count federal indictment charging Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud; and Wire Fraud.
When Sentenced, Clark Faces Up To 40 Years In Prison
Following entering his guilty plea on May 6, 2025, Judge Bumb accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for September 10, 2025. At that time, Clark faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each count. When sentenced, a U.S. District Court Judge may order both counts to run consecutively, resulting in a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years.
Clark’s girlfriend, Esther Amppiaw, 33, of Keller, Texas, appeared on May 23, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Renee Marie Bumb to a one-count federal indictment charging her with Operating an Unlicensed Money Transmitter Business.
Amppiaw Faces Up To 5 Years in Prison
Following entering her guilty plea on May 23, 2025, Judge Bumb accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for September 23, 2025. At that time, Amppiaw faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offenses and Amppiaw’s prior criminal history.
Clark And Amppiaw Both Admit Guilt To Bilking Elderly Man
According to documents filed with the District Court and charging information unsealed in the indictments, From June 2022 through September 2022, while a resident of Delray Beach, Florida, Clark conspired and agreed to receive the proceeds of fraud perpetrated by a co-conspirator in Ghana and then to transfer those proceeds overseas. Over the course of the conspiracy, one or more of Clark’s co-conspirators went onto online dating sites and, using fake names, pretended to be romantically interested in mostly elderly victims, including stating that they wanted to marry the victims. Many of the victims, including Victim-1 (an elderly New Jersey-based victim), had recently lost their spouses.
The co-conspirators used electronic means to deceive the victims into sending money by telling them a variety of lies. For instance, they claimed that a large amount of gold was located in Ghana, but to gain access, the victim needed to pay taxes, fees, or other sums. The co-conspirators directed the victims to send funds to Clark and others acting at his direction, including Amppiaw. Clark used fake names, including “Joseph Moore” and “Stanley Smith”—as well as financial accounts in those fake names—to commit and transfer the proceeds of fraud.
During his guilty plea hearing, Clark admitted to being responsible for $501,071 in victim losses. He also admitted that he had attempted to obstruct justice by causing a falsified death certificate and funeral notice purporting to show the death and funeral of a family member to be submitted to the United States for the purpose of obtaining his passport, which had been lawfully seized and to which he was not legally entitled.
Amppiaw admitted that she operated an unlicensed money-transmitting business from January 2022 through June 2023 while a resident of Delray Beach, Florida. Amppiaw also admitted that she knowingly received checks, money orders, and electronic payments totaling $317,290 from individuals she did not know and that she knowingly transmitted most of the funds to other individuals, including at least one recipient in New Jersey and others overseas, including in Ghana. Amppiaw admitted that she now knows that the funds she transferred included the proceeds of unlawful activity—that is, fraud.
