Winnipeg police say they've arrested a scam artist who used an e-mail scheme to con an 84-year-old man out of more than $30,000.

The victim received a large number of e-mails between April and September offering him $1.5 million in exchange for his help in unblocking funds held in an account in Nigeria, police said Wednesday.

Tempted by the promise he'd become an easy millionaire, the man wired more than $30,000 to Ghana, police said.

"Then they kept inundating him with more phone calls, more e-mails, asking for more money," said Const. Jacqueline Chaput.

When the calls kept coming — but his reward money didn't — the man contacted police. With their help, the victim made arrangements for one of the suspects to come to Winnipeg to receive more money.

"He also had the nerve to request a refund for his airfare," Chaput said.

He was arrested when he arrived at the victim's home Friday.

A 36-year-old Toronto man, who police described as a Nigerian refugee who has been living in Canada for a year, has been charged with several fraud-related offences, including fraud over $5,000 and possession of goods obtained by crime.

It's not clear if the man will be able to recover the money he wired to Ghana, Chaput said.

The e-mail scam — known as the Nigerian, West African or 419 letter scam — is a common one. Potential victims receive an e-mail asking for help unlocking a massive inheritance in a bank account in another country, often in Africa, in exchange for a portion of the wealth.

Police receive about 100 complaints about scams of this nature each year, but arrests are rare, police say.

"It's not often that we're able to track the e-mails or we're able to track anybody involved with this," Chaput said. "It's usually done through e-mail because they've got that anonymity."

The arrest was the first of its kind in Canada outside Toronto, police said.