Oklahoma Woman Charged In $1.5 Million Romance Scams Targeting Elderly Women

An Oklahoma woman is facing charges for allegedly laundering $1.5 million obtained through online romance scams after her bank tipped off investigators of suspected senior fraud activity.

Christine Joan Echohawk, 53, was arrested Monday complaints of unlawful use of criminal proceeds and using a computer to violate state statutes, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement.

MidFirst Bank alerted Drummonds office in January that it had intercepted and held a $120,000 transfer into Echohawk’s account from one of the alleged victims. The AG office’s Consumer Protection Unit subsequently investigated.

Investigators said Echohawk laundered money from four out-of-state victims between Sept. 30, 2024, and Dec. 26, 2024. All of the victims are elderly women ages 64–79, and believed they were sending funds to, or to benefit, a man with whom they believed they were in an online romantic relationship.

One victim sold her house in order to send $600,000 to the scammer. The victims sent funds in the form of Apple gift cards, cash and cashiers checks, and wired money to accounts owned by Echohawk at MidFirst Bank.

Echohawk allegedly laundered the money through various accounts, converted the funds to cryptocurrency, then sent crypto payments to an unidentified suspect.

Drummond’s office said local law enforcement had previously confronted Echohawk about suspected criminal activity back in January 2024, but “after a short hiatus,” she allegedly continued to launder funds.

Echohawk is facing 24 to 62 years in prison on five counts, and fines of up to $260,000.