Colorado woman ignored warnings, joined romance scam operation after falling victim to it

A Castle Rock woman was recently sent to prison for handling almost $3.5 million gained by overseas operatives through romance scams - after she had lost a large amount of her own money to the scam herself.

Lori Ann Kimball, 52, sent money to a man she knew as "Joe Hart," a person she met through a dating app in early 2022 following the death of her husband, according to a case document. "Joe Hart" claimed to be living and working on an offshore oil rig for extended periods of time, but proclaimed his commitment to his relationship with Kimball. 

Later that year, "Hart" asked Kimball for financial assistance. She sent "Hart" a "large amount of her own money," as stated in the case document, via cryptocurrency. The precise amount was not disclosed in court records. 

But, in those same records, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney General Office, District of Colorado, claimed "Joe Hart" was actually a Nigerian national and member of a "pig butchering" conspiracy. "Pig butchering" refers to a fraudster's process of "fattening up" a scam victim with praise and gaining their trust before carrying out the plan to pry money from them using made-up financial emergencies such as unexpected medical procedures, funeral expenses, frozen bank accounts or business costs. 

A month after getting her payment, "Joe Hart" began forwarding Kimball money gained from other victims of the romance scam, according to case documents. In all, Kimball shuffled $3,490,556 from at least 15 other victims into a digital wallet belonging to "Joe Hart" for almost two years. In doing so, she utilized at least 20 bank accounts and at least seven cryptocurrency accounts, opening new ones as banks and cryptocurrency exchanges began asking questions about her activity. 

In the case's plea agreement, federal prosecutors claimed they were ready to prove Kimball knew the funds we coming from scam victims, even though Kimball denied that knowledge early in the investigation.

Those prosecutors also listed the several warnings Kimball received during the course of the illicit activity:

• A friend reportedly told Kimball prior to the exchange of money that "Hart" wasn't a real person and recommended she cease communicating with him. Prosecutors claim Kimball hid her activities from friends following that advice.
• A Castle Rock police officer met with Kimball twice - in December 2022 and January 2023 - after being contacted by a victim who wired Kimball $85,000. The officer reportedly told Kimball she was engaging in criminal activity and could face legal consequences for her role in it. 
• Kimball was contacted directly by another victim in September 2023. Kimball received the letter, according to case documents, and replied to the victim - and continued participating in the romance scam.
• A cryptocurrency platform contacted Kimball in December 2023 threatened to suspend her account without an adequate explanation for the nearly half million dollars it felt was suspiciously obtained. 
• A bank contacted Kimball that same month for the same reason. According to her plea agreement, Kimball lied to the bank and said the victims were investors helping her establish a new life insurance venture. 
• Another bank shut down Kimball's account in September 2024 due to "a large unexplained flow of funds" coming into it. The bank expressed its doubts the source of the money was legal.

Kimball was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2025. She signed the plea agreement two months later, admitting to deliberately ignoring the warnings, lying to the banks, and to handling the fraudulently gained funds. 

In exchange, federal prosecutors dismissed all but one of the two dozen criminal counts against Kimball. 

The plea agreement also states Kimball personally used a small amount of the money for herself, mainly toward mortgage payments or gifts to family members.   

Kimball was sentenced March 20 to one year and one day in federal prison on the single count of Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. She walked out of the Denver courtroom after the judge gave her 15 days to report to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to serve her term. It's expected she will be housed in Phoenix. 

The judge also ordered Kimball to repay $3,112,990 of the money taking from the scam victims.