City of Norfolk Hit by $1.2 Million Scam Linked to Online Dating

The City of Norfolk became the unexpected victim of a romance scam after criminals used ordinary people to move more than $1.2 million out of a government bank account.

Federal investigators say the scheme was run by Habeeb Ayodeji Anibaba. He allegedly created fake dating profiles and contacted women on online dating sites. He was patient. He sent kind messages, listened to their problems, and slowly earned their trust.

After weeks or months of conversation, he began asking for money. Some women sent gift cards. Others used PayPal, Venmo, and cryptocurrency. They believed they were helping someone they cared about.

Then he introduced what sounded like a simple favor.

He told some victims he wanted to repay the money they had sent. To do that, he gave them banking details and asked them to transfer funds into their own accounts. The woman believed the money was his. It was not.

According to court records, the funds were taken from the City of Norfolk’s corporate bank account. Investigators say more than 1,000 unauthorized ACH withdrawals were made over the course of the scam. By the time the activity was discovered, the city had lost over $1.2 million.

The women were not professional criminals. They were people who believed they were in real relationships. Without knowing it, they became part of a larger fraud.

Norfolk officials noticed unusual transactions in 2020 and contacted their bank and federal authorities. The FBI joined the investigation and traced the transfers.

Anibaba has been charged with bank fraud. Prosecutors are working to bring him from the United Kingdom to the United States. The charges are allegations, and the case has not yet been decided in court.

The story is a reminder that romance scams can cause damage far beyond the people directly targeted. In this case, a city government paid the price.

Experts say the warning signs are often the same: a person you have never met asks for money, avoids meeting in real life, and pressures you to move funds on their behalf.

What looks like a love story online can sometimes be the beginning of a costly scam.