SPOKANE, Wash. — David Joseph Osinski, 57, based in Arlington, Texas, has been indicted with six counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. His crimes cost the victim, an elderly man from Spokane, $345,000 back in 2021.
“Internet scams, often perpetrated outside of the state, are a recurring problem which cause significant harm and hardship to residents here in Eastern Washington,” said U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref.
Osinski framed the scam through a relationship with a fake art dealer named “Kathleen” based in Dubai. Through a series of messages, Osinski and his co-conspirators convinced the victim to send an initial payment of $189,000 to an account in Dubai for the purchase of art. An additional $156,640 was sent to a Dallas-based account owned and controlled by Osinski. Osinski then withdrew the amount to purchase cryptocurrency.
“Unfortunately, fraudsters and scammers frequently target elderly members of our community. This case is an important part of our efforts to seek elder justice and fight elder fraud in Eastern Washington. In order to make Eastern Washington communities safer and stronger, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to vigorously prosecute scammers and their conspirators,” said Waldref.
If convicted, Osinski faces a possible 30-year sentence on the conspiracy charges, 20 years on the wire fraud charges and 10 years on the money laundering charges for a total of 60 years.
Editor's note: In the original version of this story, the victim was identified as a female.
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