Feds Say Sick Celebrity Romance Scam Led to Retired Teacher’s Suicide

A 74-year-old retired teacher in Tennessee killed himself after losing nearly $100,000 to a romance scam, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast.

Police believe the man’s suicide was a direct result of being extorted by a New Jersey couple, the complaint states.

While the pair’s arrest has been previously reported, their victim’s death has not been revealed until now. The complaint, filed in Greeneville, Tennessee federal court, contains heartbreaking new details about the alleged fraud, saying Chinagorom Onwumere, 34, and Salma Abdalkareem, 27, had the target, a former schoolteacher, convinced he was romantically involved with an unnamed celebrity.

Read more at The Daily Beast.