Federal prosecutors have secured a guilty plea from a Washington resident accused of running a years-long romance scam that drained over $333,000 from a Portland victim.
Rithy Ham, 45, of Vancouver, Washington, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
The scheme ran from September 2020 through May 2024 and relied on invented identities of two women who supposedly needed cash for daily bills, nursing school costs and escape from sex trafficking.
“Believing the women were real and in danger, the victim sent money on multiple occasions.”
The victim sent repeated payments after receiving messages from both Ham and the fabricated profiles.
One transfer of $36,872.35 occurred in November 2022, and another $20,922 came from a retirement account in March 2023.
Ham and his wife controlled the accounts that received the funds, and part of the proceeds paid for an $18,500 check to his wife.
“In total, Ham stole $333,249.52 from the victim, much of it from the victim’s retirement savings.”
Under the plea deal, Ham must repay the full amount and faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and up to 10 years on the money laundering count.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
