"Nigerian Scam" Drags On For Window Cleaner

BANGOR, Maine — A Stockton Springs window cleaner who spent more than a year in federal prison for soliciting funds to invest in an international scam pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to 13 counts of wire fraud in what prosecutors have called a similar scheme. Todd Denson, 50, originally was indicted in May on two counts of wire fraud. He allegedly was asking people for money that he sent overseas. Denson told people that he needed money to gain access to millions he had in foreign bank accounts, according to court documents.

The first indictment cited two wire transfers totaling $4,700. The new indictment, dated July 13, cited 11 additional wire transfers totaling $20,383, including the amount cited in the original indictment. Information about what led to the additional charges was not available Monday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk ordered that Denson continue to be held without bail, as he has been since his arrest in April. He scheduled to be tried on all 13 counts in September.

Denson appears to be a victim of a well-known Internet monetary fraud as well as someone who has tried to swindle money from people in Hancock, Waldo and Knox counties since he was released from prison in May 2008, according to court documents. He was sentenced on June 7, 2007, in federal court in Portland to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of mail and wire fraud. Denson admitted to bilking several Cumberland County residents out of nearly $80,000. His problems apparently began in 2006, when he fell for a fraudulent Internet scheme out of Ghana, according to previously published reports. The owner of a successful window-washing business in Portland, Denson sent $60,000 to the African nation after being told he could get a $9 million inheritance.

After he ran out of his own money in 2006, Denson used a variety of stories to get additional funds from seven so-called investors and wired the money overseas in hopes of getting the millions promised. In all, he bilked seven people out of nearly $80,000, but only four sought restitution, according to court records. He still owes $58,600 to those victims, according to court documents. It was unclear Monday how many people might have been victimized by Denson's most recent alleged activities, although three victims were identified in the original indictment. If convicted on the new charges, Denson faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

A Westbrook man who lost $60,000 of his own money in a fraudulent Internet scheme run out of Africa now faces a federal prison sentence for using $78,600 of other people's money after his funds ran out. Todd Denson, 46, told investigators that he received an e-mail that convinced him he could get an inheritance worth more than $9 million from a murdered man in Ghana by sending $1,000 overseas. Denson sent the money, followed by another $59,000. Eventually he ran out of his own money and told a variety of stories to get money from other "investors." He convinced one victim to invest in patented window-washing inventions and another to invest in an international construction company. On Thursday, Denson pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland and faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and will owe restitution to his seven victims. His case offers a cautionary tale for people who think they can get rich quickly, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark.

In another case, Todd Denson, who ran a Westbrook-based window-washing company, placed a classified ad in the Portland Press Herald seeking investors. Denson said he needed to borrow $40,000 for 48 hours, and promised a $20,000 return on investment. He said he needed the money to release more than $9 million in funds that he kept in an overseas bank account, money he had earned by inventing patented window-washing equipment. Instead, prosecutors say, Denson shipped the money overseas to release what he had become convinced was millions of dollars in assets of a construction company he had acquired.

Prosecutors believe Denson spent $60,000 of his own funds before borrowing $78,000 from five victims. All of it was lost in the scam. He now faces up to 20 years in prison. When he was being questioned by a Secret Service agent last January, Denson reminded the agent that the two had talked before. Denson said he had called the Secret Service office and asked the agent if he thought the overseas investment Denson was involved in was legitimate. The agent said he was familiar with the scheme and warned him to stay away from it. He was told not to send any more money, and not to take anyone else's money to finance it.

Denson was told that "since he was aware of the scam, he could be held criminally liable for enticing other unsuspecting individuals into relinquishing their money," according to a court document written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark. Despite the warning, Denson continued looking for "investors" to help him strike it rich. Victims like Denson go through a common psychological phenomenon known as a "social trap" that turns them into accomplices of the same con men who are trying to rob them, said Bill Thornton, a psychology professor at the University of Southern Maine. Victims need to justify their losses, he said. The more they lose in the scam, the more convinced they become of its reality. "We don't think of ourselves as stupid people, so there is some self-deception and rationalization," Thornton said.

Magalski likens it to gambling. "It's like a poker player who knows he's probably going to get beat, but he's got so much in the pot, he has to keep going and feeding it," he said. "You've invested so much." Magalski says it's difficult to say how much money has been lost to the scammers. While cases like those of Denson and Lewis are rare, his office hears almost daily from people who want to check out an e-mail they received, or from a financial institution concerned about a customer who is drawing large amounts of money out of his or her account. People who lose money are often too embarrassed to report it, Magalski said, but he estimates that losses of $10,000 to $25,000 are common.

When the losses are reported, often little can be done. American law firms that purport to represent the scammers turn out to be fakes. So do the addresses on the documents. The con men and the money are typically out of the country, beyond reach. The best Magalski can offer is advice. All of these crimes could have been prevented by ignoring the first e-mail. "The best way to combat this is public education," he said.