Contact: Beth Stone 508-584-8120
BROCKTON – A New York woman has been indicted on charges that she operated an elaborate online scheme to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from an unsuspecting victim, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.
Yesterday, a Plymouth County grand jury indicted Nikeisha Lewis, 42, on one count each of Larceny over $1,200, Receiving Stolen Property Over $1,200, and Money Laundering.
The indictments allege that Lewis engaged in a romance scam that targeted a female victim in Plymouth County. During the pandemic, the victim met up online with “Richard Kobstar,” a fake profile for a man who purported to be a CIA agent and owner of a successful diamond mining company. In the fall of 2020, “Kobstar” convinced the victim to invest in his company, and the victim sent large sums of money through checks, cash and wire transfers to Lewis, whom “Kobstar” said was his assistant. Lewis, who resided in New York, fraudulently deposited these payments into her own business account at Wells Fargo bank, and quickly concealed them by rapidly withdrawing the stolen cash from random ATMs.
In December, 2021, the victim began to fear that she was being scammed, and in March, 2022, she reported the theft to Plymouth Police. Then, an extensive investigation commenced, with detectives reviewing thousands of financial records.
In total, the investigation found that Lewis acted in a joint venture with unknown other individuals to deceive this female victim into sending her $300,000 over the course of 15 months. Lewis allegedly used the funds to make her utility, credit card and mortgage payments, and to buy groceries and travel.
Lewis will be arraigned on the indictments at a later date.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Zane, and was investigated by Plymouth Police.