PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth man who pleaded guilty to mail fraud was sentenced to two years in prison. Federal prosecutors say he was part of rental and romance schemes.
The News 3 Investigative Team continues to follow up on how criminals are using the postal service to get money from victims.
Richard Hardy, 55, will spend two years in prison for defrauding 19 victims across the United States of almost $90,000 in several mail fraud schemes, according to federal prosecutors.
The News 3 Investigative Team spoke to him before he was sentenced.
WATCH: Portsmouth man convicted of fraud has a warning for others about rental scams
“If I had a crystal ball or time machine, I’d go back and I wouldn’t have done it," Hardy said. "I accept responsibility and my role in it, but I was used."
He said he was used by people that he says approached him online.
Hardy said he thought several women were interested in him romantically after they contacted him online, but it turned out that he ended up working as the middleman in their scheme.
Federal prosecutors say in many of the cases, victims would send Hardy money for rental properties that weren’t actually available.
Hardy would take a cut of the money. He said he would then give the rest to the people who approached him online.
“I got caught up in a bad situation because those people took advantage of me and used me and they knew they could and I should’ve known better,” Hardy said.
Hardy claimed he didn’t know what he was doing was illegal. Federal prosecutors say after they executed a search warrant at his house, he continued to defraud victims through a change of address scheme.
Investigations
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“There's just so many schemes out there,” Postal Inspector Team Leader Michael Romano said.
Romano spoke to the News 3 I-Team about crimes related to the postal service, not this specific case.
“The mail theft tends to be more of a street-level crime, a more hands-on crime," he said. "Our mail fraud scams, more often than not, will start in some cyber component: emails, texts, visiting websites."
He said the cyber component can make it more difficult to make an arrest.
“These fraud schemes typically originate overseas - Western Africa, Jamaica - so it’s very difficult to prosecute the individuals that are in other countries,” he said.
Hardy said he regrets what happened.
“They got all the money and I’m left holding the bag and I have to pay all that money back,” Hardy said.
Postal officials warn the public to be leery of people online, don’t provide your personal information and do your research when sending money to anyone.
