A 67-year-old man has been arrested over his role in a “Nigerian prince” internet scam – but he’s not quite what you’re expecting.

Michael Neu, from Slidell near New Orleans, helped swindle people out of thousands of dollars as a middleman, they said.

The local police department posted on its Facebook page:

“Slidell Police arrested a ‘Nigerian prince’ responsible for scamming people out of thousands of dollars … well sort of.”

Although Neu does not appear to be a Nigerian prince, police allege he wired money to co-conspirators in Nigeria.

They said he participated in hundreds of scams and will face 269 counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

The “Nigerian prince” phishing scam involves emails sent to random recipients from a purported Nigerian official who claims the recipient has been named a beneficiary in a will and will inherit at least $1 million.

The victim is then asked to send personal information, including bank account details, used to con them out of their money.

-ABC