A United States district court in Michigan has sentenced three Nigerians for their roles in a $2 million wire fraud scheme that preyed on elderly individuals.
The convicted individuals include Fatai Okunola, Oluwaseyi Adeola, and Ijeoma Adeola. A fourth defendant, Cory McDougal, is awaiting sentencing.
The defendants faced a three-count charge of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, unlawful procurement of naturalisation, and making false statements related to naturalisation. All three pleaded guilty to the charges.
According to the US Department of Justice, the defendants collaborated with individuals in Nigeria to defraud victims in the United States “using interstate wire transmissions or the mail system.”
“The conspirators in Nigeria created false online personas to develop relationships with their victims over the internet, through social media, by text messages or by telephone,” the US government stated.
“These relationships centered around romantic interests, offers to buy or sell goods or services, apartment rentals, or offers to make loans or provide grant funding, among other schemes.
“The conspirators sent pictures or provided other information to the victims to make their schemes appear genuine. When the conspirators used telephone calls, they used voice-over-internet-protocol numbers to make it appear as if the calls were originating within the United States near the victims. After developing the relationships, the conspirators asked for money for a variety of reasons related to the scheme.”
Court documents revealed that the scheme operated from 2017 to 2022 and generated over $2 million in proceeds.
Okunola received a sentence of 121 months for conspiracy to commit fraud, 60 months for making false statements in his US naturalisation process, and 120 months for money laundering.
Adeola was sentenced to 34 months in prison for his involvement in the fraud, while his wife, Ijeoma, was placed on three years’ probation for
“failure to report the commission of a felony to appropriate authorities and taking an affirmative step to assist in the concealment of the crime.”
McDougal’s sentencing is scheduled for a later date.
