A mother and daughter who stole $1.1m in an online dating scam have been jailed for 27 years.
Karen Vasseur, 73, and daughter Tracy, 40, laundered money in a Nigerian-based scam where people posing as members of the US military convinced victims to send them money.
The duo, from Brighton, Colo., were part of the fraud which took money from 374 victims in the US and 40 other countries.
The gang would scour the internet looking for vulnerable people, strike up a relationship and once they had built trust, ask for money.
They claimed the money was for things like customs fees, satellite phone calls and travel money so the pair could meet.
One victim from the UK sent $59,000.
For the smaller donations, Western Union or MoneyGram was used, but for larger donations the Vasseurs set up 20 bank accounts in the US.
The duo took 10% of the money and wired the rest to accomplices in Nigeria, Ecuador, the UK, India and the US.
Mother Karen received a 12-year sentence and her daughter Tracy a 15-year sentence.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said: “Not only did this mother-daughter duo break the law, they broke hearts worldwide.
“It is fitting that they received stiff sentences for their unconscionable crimes committed in the name of love and the United States military.”