Hartford: A 36-year-old Ghanaian, Dickson Alorwornu, who is also known by the alias 'Dixon AI,' has been sentenced to 48 months in prison in the United States after being found guilty of conducting a tuition refund scam.
According to Ghana Web, the US Attorney's Office, District of Connecticut, issued a statement detailing that Alorwornu, a resident of Greenwich, orchestrated a scheme by creating fraudulent student accounts using stolen identities. He utilized stolen credit information to populate these accounts with funds, subsequently requesting refunds by falsely claiming withdrawal from courses.
During Alorwornu's trial, evidence revealed that in December 2017, he submitted non-degree student applications to the University of Connecticut (UConn) using other individuals' identities. He used stolen credit card information from three victims to deposit over $62,000 into these accounts. In early 2018, he withdrew and requested refunds, leading UConn to transfer approximately $46,000 to accounts under his control.
The investigation uncovered that the email accounts Alorwornu used in defrauding UConn were also involved in defrauding other universities of more than $500,000. His criminal history includes a 2024 fraud conviction and a 2017 conviction in New York for offenses involving stolen credit cards and personal identifying information.
Alorwornu was arrested on February 1, 2023, and found guilty on October 29, 2024, of two counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to begin his prison term on April 20, 2026.