Friday, January 17, 2025 - Three Nigerians have been sentenced to various jail terms in the U.S. for participating in an international mail and wire fraud scheme originating in Nigeria and frequently targeting elderly individuals.
The United
States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark A. Totten announced
the sentencing in a statement on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
According
to the statement, the defendants, Fatai Okunola, Oluwaseyi Adeola and
Ijeoma Adeola, pleaded guilty in July 2024.
“Financial
fraud is not a ‘faceless’ crime – and today’s sentencings help secure a measure
of justice for the victims of this international fraud scheme," said U.S
Attorney Mark Totten.
“Some of
the victims lost their retirement savings, took loans against their homes, or
suffered other financial distress because of the defendants’ lies. The
defendants used modern technology, including the internet and social media
platforms – something we all rely upon every day to communicate and carry out
legitimate tasks in our daily lives – to prey on elderly and vulnerable
victims. My office will continue to vigorously pursue justice for the victims
of financial fraud.”
Fatai
Okunola, 38, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment
for his role in the fraud conspiracy and ordered to pay restitution of
$731,879.16; he was additionally sentenced to 60 months imprisonment for making
false statements when seeking naturalization as a U.S. Citizen and 120 months
imprisonment for committing money laundering with the proceeds from the fraud
conspiracy, those sentences running concurrently with the sentence for his
participation in the conspiracy. The court also ordered him to report to
immigration authorities for deportation following his sentence.
Oluwaseyi
Adeola, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment for his
role in the fraud conspiracy and ordered to pay restitution of $409,968.93.
Ijeoma
Adeola, 36, also of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced to three years probation for
misprision of a felony (the failure to report the commission of a felony to
appropriate authorities and taking an affirmative step to assist in the
concealment of the crime) and ordered to pay restitution of $48,570.
Cory
McDougal, 33, of Romeoville, Illinois, who also pled guilty to the fraud
conspiracy, will be sentenced on a later date to be determined by the court.
According
to court records, the defendants conspired with individuals primarily in
Nigeria to defraud individuals in the United States, many of whom were elderly
or particularly vulnerable, through a variety of fraud schemes 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.
These relationships centred 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.
After the victims agreed, the conspirators
directed the victims to send the money to the defendants, who opened numerous
bank accounts to receive the victims’ money.
On some occasions, the defendants received
the victims’ money in post office boxes maintained under alias names or through
payments made payable to “shell” businesses that the defendants, including
Ijeoma Adeola, created to receive fraud proceeds.
The victims sent the money to the defendants
through the mail, bank-to-bank transfers, or through peer-to-peer money
transfer services like Zelle or PayPal. After the defendants received the
money in their accounts, they transferred the money to each other, to the
conspirators overseas, and to their own accounts in Nigeria.
Fatai Okunola used some of the fraud proceeds
he received to assist others in purchasing automobiles in the United States and
then exporting them to Nigeria.
According to the indictment, the defendants
received more than $2 million in their accounts from the scheme between 2017
and 2022.
“Our agents will continue the important work
of dismantling interstate and international fraud schemes that would seek to
rob Americans of their hard-earned money,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge
Angie M. Salazar.
“These
cases are too often a reminder for us to check in on elderly family members and
members of our community to ensure that they are not taken advantage of by
sophisticated schemes.”
“Today's
sentencing of these defendants underscores our dedication to safeguarding
vulnerable victims from those who attempt to exploit them through various fraud
schemes,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Detroit Division
of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
"This
case's outcome showcases the outstanding efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, and our law enforcement partners in dismantling this international
fraud scheme and delivering justice for those affected.”
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