SAN DIEGO (CN) - A Department of Homeland Security official stationed in Korea bilked people of $240,000 in an Internet scam and disappeared, federal prosecutors said. Dario Tomas, 51, of Oceanside, took it on the lam from Busan when his scheme was discovered, prosecutors say.
Tomas promised investors "that their money would be used to open a technical school for computer training in the Philippines," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in announcing the indictment.
Prosecutors added: "Tomas created false email accounts in the names of others, used those accounts to send messages to the investors to make it appear as if the investment project was progressing, and falsely advised investors by telephone of the progress of the investment project in order to lull the investors into believing that their principal was intact and in use, as promised."
Tomas's whereabouts are unknown. He faces up to 20 years for wire fraud if he is caught and convicted.
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