A Denver man who conned a victim out of more than $400,000 over several years pleaded guilty this week in federal court to defrauding an elderly victim.
Akihiko Siegfried, 54, was on June 17, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Siegfried, who is in custody, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 10.
In January 2008, Siegfried knocked on the door of the victim, a then-89-year-old widower, and wept while fabricating a story about his parents dying in a recent car crash.
The victim, who is of Japanese descent, felt a bond because of their shared Japanese heritage and decided to help, not knowing that he was being duped.
Siegfried also told the victim, now 94, that he was in line to inherit a substantial sum of money, which was a lie, and he promised to pay all the money back. That never happened.
Siegfried preyed on the victim through last March, and the sum of stolen money rose to $400,001.
“All too often, con men prey on our senior citizens and steal their life savings,” U.S. Attorney John Walsh said in the release.
Mail fraud carries a penalty of not more than 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count. Money laundering carries a penalty of not more than 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 per count.
