AG: Lawrenceville man stole $50K from senior in online romance scam

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Georgia's Attorney General has indicted a Lawrenceville man accused of scamming a California senior citizen out of thousands of dollars in an online romance scam.

Officials charged Lawrenceville resident Borin Khuon with four counts of theft by taking in Gwinnett County Superior Court.

According to investigators, Khoun stole over $50,000 from a California man through an online scam.

"People who prey on older, at-risk adults and try to capitalize on their vulnerability or loneliness must be held accountable," Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. "We appreciate the Cyber Fraud Task Force for their work and referral on this case and others like it."

According to the Federal Trade Commission, an online romance scam is when a suspect creates a fake account to try to strike up a phony relationship with the victim, then they make up a story and ask the victim for money.

In total, the FTC says a record $304 million were reported stolen in romance scams in 2020 alone.

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