The North Karelia District Court has sentenced four women for money laundering related to a fraudulent scheme that exploited unsuspecting victims through online romance scams. One 56-year-old woman received a suspended sentence of one year and four months and is required to perform 50 hours of community service due to her involvement in gross money laundering and assisting in an attempted serious fraud. Alongside her sentence, she is also obligated to pay significant compensation to her victims, acknowledging her role in the deception.

From March 2020 to June 2023, this woman personally handled over €185,000 in cash that she received from 14 individuals via postal shipments or bank transfers. She would withdraw the funds for herself and then deliver them to locations in Kuopio, where they were converted into virtual currency using an automated system. The funds were part of so-called romance scams, where victims were led to believe they were sending money to people they met online, only for the money to end up in the hands of scammers.

This case underlines the ongoing issues of online fraud and the increasing sophistication of such scams, as they often involve multiple individuals and complex financial transactions to evade detection. It serves as a cautionary tale about the risks associated with online interactions and the legal repercussions for those who become entangled in illegal financial activities, even if they are not the original scamming party.