A Lawrenceville man is accused of stealing more than $50,000 through online romance scams in 2020 and is now being charged with theft.
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr accused Borin Khoun of targeting a man in California and taking his money on four separate occasions in late November 2020, according to a news release.
The indictment was handed down by a Gwinnett County grand jury Wednesday. It accuses Khoun of committing the thefts with the “intention of depriving this owner of this property.”
“Our prosecution division is committed to stopping criminals who perpetrate identity theft and financial fraud,” Carr said in the statement. “People who prey on older, at-risk adults and try to capitalize on their vulnerability or loneliness must be held accountable.”
No other details were released.
“This is all we are able to share at this time concerning the details of the case, including getting into the defendant’s role in the events that caused the victim to lose $50,000,” communications director Katie Byrd told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Khoun’s alleged online dating scam is not the first of its kind in Gwinnett.
In 2019, a Lawrenceville man was arrested on three counts of wire fraud after convincing a San Francisco woman to give him more than $100,000, authorities said at the time.
The man used two fake names during the alleged operation and even met the woman in California to acquire money after convincing her he would pay her back.
Just a month prior, a man defended himself in a Gwinnett County courtroom after being accused of stealing $80,000 from a woman he met on a dating site.
Although the man claimed the woman gave him the money after buying an internet business from him, the judge decided to move forward with the fraud case after evidence showed he convinced the woman they were in love. Investigators were also able to trace back five names he had used within the same number of years.
Khoun’s case was referred to Carr’s office by the Cyber Fraud Task Force, which is comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement officials.
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