A Bismarck man sent $7,000 to Ghana before he realized that what he believed was a woman he was dating was actually a scammer.

The 43-year-old man met the scammer on the dating website Zoosk in August of 2014 and started what he believed was a relationship, Bismarck Police Sgt. Mark Buschena said.

After a short while, the scammer started asking the man to wire money to Ghana, citing one personal problem after another.

"He then became involved with a claimed gold exchange with this woman," Buschena said.

The scammer told the man that she had come into a gold inheritance and she needed the man's help to get it. The man was also contacted by three other men, who claimed to be working for gold exchanges in Ghana and the United States and who directed the man to open up several fraudulent accounts, Buschena said.

The Bismarck man told police he never expected to make a profit from the woman's alleged inheritance; he only expected to get back the money he sent to help secure it.

The last time the man sent money was in December. He then was contacted by a bank representative who told him the accounts should be closed because they were being used for fraudulent activity.

Buschena said information about the case has been forwarded to the North Dakota Attorney General's Office.