A United States court has sentenced Nigerian national Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata to more than eight years in prison for orchestrating a transnational fraud scheme that targeted over 400 Americans and generated millions of dollars in illicit gains.
According to court documents, Ogbata, 36, operated the scheme for several years, deceiving mostly elderly and vulnerable individuals.
He sent false, personalized letters posing as a representative of a Spanish bank, claiming the recipients were entitled to multimillion-dollar inheritances from deceased relatives abroad.
To access the fictitious funds, victims were instructed to pay delivery fees, taxes, and other costs into bank accounts controlled by Ogbata’s associates and prior victims whose trust he had manipulated.
Through this elaborate operation, Ogbata admitted to defrauding more than 400 individuals and stealing over $6 million before being apprehended through a coordinated effort between U.S. law enforcement and European authorities.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division praised the international collaboration that led to Ogbata’s conviction.
“This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime,” Roth said in a statement on Monday.
He specifically commended the contributions of the Portuguese Judicial Police and the Public Prosecution Service of Portugal.
Roth emphasized the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting American consumers, stating, “The Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located.”