OKLAHOMA CITY – The state Attorney General’s office filed five felony charges against a woman from Pawnee accused of laundering approximately $1.5 million in funds obtained through online romance scams.
Christine Joan Echohawk, 54, is charged in Pawnee County District Court with four counts of unlawful use of criminal proceeds and one count of using a computer to violate state statutes. She pleaded not guilty and will be represented by the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. Her next court appearance is set for May 20.
If convicted on all charges, Echohawk faces 24 to 62 years in prison and fines of up to $260,000. It is not known whether she also might be required to pay restitution to the victims.
Echohawk is accused of laundering money from four out-of-state victims between Sept. 30 and Dec. 26, 2024. All of the alleged victims are elderly women who live in Florida, Utah and Texas and range in age from 64 to 79. They believed they were sending funds to, or for the benefit of, a male subject with whom they thought they were in an online romantic relationship.
One woman sold her house so that she could send $600,000 to the scammer. The victims sent Apple gift cards, cash and cashiers’ checks, and wired money to accounts owned by Echohawk at a MidFirst branch bank in Stillwater, a court record reflects.
An affidavit filed by an agent in the Attorney General’s office reported they received a tip from MidFirst Bank in January of suspected senior-fraud activity after the bank intercepted and held a $120,000 transfer from one of the victims. The Consumer Protection Unit subsequently investigated.
Echohawk is accused of laundering the illegally obtained funds through various accounts, converting them to cryptocurrency and then sending crypto payments to an unidentified suspect.
In January 2024, local law enforcement confronted Echohawk about suspected criminal activity, but she allegedly continued to launder funds after a short hiatus.
Justin Hokett, the Attorney General’s agent, said Echohawk admitted she received cash, checks, electronic fund transfers, “and other such items of monetary value since 2023” on behalf of “an individual she believed herself to be in a romantic relationship with…” This person identified himself as Maurice Dinero, an alias that combines a French first name with a last name that is a Spanish word for money.
“These types of scams that target seniors are especially egregious,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond said.
Suspected fraud should be reported to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit at (833) 681-1895 or consumerprotection@oag.ok.gov.