VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A woman who lost $60,000 in a romance scam will finally see restitution after a judge sentenced Cory Woodall to two years in prison and ordered him to repay the money he admitted spending while laundering funds tied to a scheme that convinced her she was helping a retired U.S. Army general return to the country.
A 70-year-old Volusia County woman sent $60,000, including $30,000 in cash after responding to an email about a wounded military dog last year.
The 56-year-old North Carolina man behind the scam was arrested in September after being accused of scamming the woman, according to Sheriff Mike Chitwood.
[VIDEO: Romance scam victim confronts suspect after losing $60,000]
Carol West will finally get her money back from Cory Woodall, the man now convicted of spending $30,000 of the money she lost to a romance scam.
“Well, I would have liked to see him get a longer prison sentence, but the judge decided what she thought was best,” West said.
For six weeks, West thought she was chatting online with Paul LaCamera, a real retired U.S. Army general. However, scammers posing as LaCamera tricked her out of $30,000 in cash and even more through gift cards and Bitcoin.
Investigators said Woodall convinced the woman that she was helping a retired Army general return to the United States. Woodall claims he did not scam West but only laundered the $30,000 she mailed in cash.
In September, in an unusual twist, the 70-year-old victim got to confront Woodall directly when he was extradited to Florida.
On Wednesday, Woodall was sentenced to two years behind bars and 10 years of probation. He must repay $30,000, with a minimum payment of $300 per month.
He also apologized for spending the money and promised he would sell everything he purchased with the money and pay West back.
“To get it all back—what a blessing. What a blessing. And Channel 6 has been with me through it all,” West said.
West had to return to work to replenish her life savings and says she will most likely continue working even after she has been paid her restitution.
West lost $60,000 in total during the scam. She said there has not been much progress in tracking down the remaining $30,000 or the people responsible.
“That’s from a person who’s overseas who talked me out of it. That was the main party we call the general, who convinced me he was a general in the U.S. Army Air Force, a commanding general. I don’t know if we’ll ever catch him. I still get text messages from him or other people trying to pretend to be him,” said West.