A British man was sentenced to federal prison today for stealing nearly $1.9 million from a Portland resident in a romance fraud scheme.
Oscar Peters, 65, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and 3 years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,892,439 in restitution to his victim.
According to court documents, Peters met his victim through Millionaire Match Maker, an online dating website, and convinced his victim that he was a billionaire living in Denmark seeking long-term commitment.
The defendant engaged in daily romantic emails and phone calls with his victim and ingratiated himself with promises of marriage.
The defendant then concocted elaborate lies about why he needed financial assistance, ranging from his soon-to-be ex-wife having frozen his assets or needing money to complete business obligations for their future together.
With the defendant’s calculated promises to repay the money and move to Portland, over the course of about two years, he convinced his victim to send him nearly $1.9 million.
On June 4, 2019, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a seven-count indictment charging Peters with wire fraud.
On April 9, 2020, Peters was arrested in the United Kingdom, where he remained in custody until his extradition to the United States on October 23, 2023. On March 26, 2023, Peters pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
