CONCORD — A 76-year-old widow will testify about a romance scam that took her life savings, prosecutors said Tuesday at the start of a three-week trial of Free Keene activist Ian Freeman on money-laundering charges.
Danella Varel of Punta Gorda, Florida, lost $755,000 in the scam over a six-day period in June 2020, federal prosecutor Georgianna MacDonald told a jury in U.S. District Court. Varel never met Freeman, but she sent a photo of herself holding a sign authorizing the transfer through Freeman to the scammer.