Tuesday, November 26, 2024 -Two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, have been sentenced by a United States federal jury to 30 years combined jail term for defrauding some US citizens of $3,500,000.
This was contained in a press release made available on the US Department of
Justice website.
According to the statement, Ibekie and Aniukwu deceived their victims by
telling them that they had received substantial inheritances that required some
money to claim.
The Nigerians would then request their victims send money with a promise
to refund them once the inheritances were claimed.
The duo also carried out romance scams by establishing romantic
relationships with their victims and demanding them to send money after they
had built trust in their victims.
It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in
federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago
suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.
“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated
with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received
substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated
with the defendants in order to claim it.
“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance
scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating
websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance,
and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and
Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted
corporate email accounts.
“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement
investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5
million.”
The statement noted that following their arraignment on no fewer than 14
counts, the duo pleaded guilty to their various changes.
Upon their guilty plea, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years jail term on
Thursday, Nov. 21, while Aniukwu was sentenced on November 8 to 10 years jail
term.
The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted
Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Ill., on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money
laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S.
District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in
federal prison.
“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to wire
fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced
Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”
Meanwhile, an accomplice of Ibekie and Aniukwu, who is a US citizen,
Jennifer Gosha, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18 following her
guilty plea.
“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park,
Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making
false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by
Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.
0 Comments