Bradenton police arrest man accused of faking identity to steal $100K from local widow

Bradenton police have arrested a romance scammer who is accused of defrauding a local man out of over $100,000.

Benjamin Yakah, 26, of Minnesota, has been arrested and charged with grand theft.

Yakah met the widower on Facebook late last year, according to police. Yakah posed as a woman named “Julia” who lived in the United Kingdom for eight months, according to a news release.

Yakah told the widower Julia would move to the United States to start a relationship with him, police said. Yakah claimed Julia owed money to a man in Minnesota and would move to Florida after she paid the debt, the news release said.

The widower sent cash, money orders, and cashier checks to a home and a bank in Minneapolis, according to police.

The 77-year-old Bradenton man’s children told police what happened after they found out about his relationship with Julia in June.

Police detectives said the money went to Yakah’s bank account. Investigators also said the photos of Julia were taken from a West Virginia woman’s Facebook account without her knowledge.

Bradenton police detective Jim Curulla traveled to Minnesota and arrested Yakah with the help of the Bloomington Police Department.

A search of Yakah’s home revealed there were more victims in other states, police said.

Yakah is in custody in Minnesota and awaiting extradition to Manatee County, police said.