Cottage Grove man stole $157K in romantic, family schemes: Charges

By FOX 9 Staff

Published August 22, 2024 4:29pm CDT

COTTAGE GROVE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Cottage Grove man has been charged with swindling more than $150,000 from multiple victims over several years, according to a criminal complaint filed in Washington County.

What happened?

Oluwole Salu, 33, is accused of orchestrating a series of scams over the course of years, including schemes where he posed as a relative or romantic interest to convince people to send money, officials said.

Officials say Salu allegedly stole $157,393 and attempted to steal an additional $169,593.

The criminal complaint outlines two schemes Salu was connected to:

One victim was an elderly couple who transferred $7,000 to a bank account connected to Salu after a caller impersonated their grandson back in 2015.
Another person sent $32,000, believing they were helping a woman in Turkey whom they met on a dating website. The victim sent money orders to Salu's address in Cottage Grove.

What's next?

Salu faces felony charges of theft by swindle. He was charged by summons on Tuesday and is set to appear in court in October.