PORTLAND (AP) – A Westbrook man who was the victim of an Internet scam is facing up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding several other people.

Todd Denson, 46, pleaded guilty Thursday to mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Portland. He faces sentencing that could include a prison term, a $250,000 fine and restitution to his seven victims. He is free on bail pending sentencing.

Denson’s problems started when, while going through a divorce, he fell for a fraudulent Internet scheme run out of Ghana. Denson, who owns a window-washing business, sent $60,000 of his own money to the African country after being told he could get an inheritance of $9 million.

After he ran out of money, Denson used a variety of stories to get $78,600 from other “investors” he recruited through newspaper ads.

Denson told one man that he had earned millions of dollars from his window-washing inventions, but needed $40,000 in cash to access his money without paying taxes. Denson told another investor he needed $11,200 to access $9 million his father had left in an overseas account.

Investigators learned that Denson sold his Mercedes-Benz to a friend for $4,000 but never delivered the car or title. They determined that Denson wired the money overseas.

Scams similar to the one in which Denson became ensnared have become widespread. Many of them operated through mailed letters and fax machines for decades before they moved to the Internet in the 1990s.

In response, state attorneys general have asked Western Union offices to warn people before they send money overseas, and Maine banks are looking for ways to intercede on behalf of customers who look as though they are about to lose their money.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark said there’s a lesson to be learned from Denson’s case: “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.

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