A United States court has sentenced a Nigerian national, Saheed Owolabi, to 15 years’ imprisonment for defrauding victims and laundering about $1.5m.
The judgment was delivered by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Myers II, according to a statement released on Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Details from the statement indicated that Owolabi operated under a false female identity to establish online relationships with unsuspecting American men, whom he subsequently deceived into parting with money and sensitive personal information.
Authorities disclosed that he and his accomplices also utilised bank accounts belonging to victims to facilitate the movement of illicit funds linked to other fraudulent schemes.
“Inmate Owolabi and others used bank accounts provided by victims to launder proceeds of fraud and stole over $120,000 from a victim in the Eastern District of North Carolina, among others,” the statement said.
Following his arrest and prosecution, Owolabi was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.
The court, in handing down the sentence, held that the convict played a leading role in a large-scale fraud network, noting that his activities involved complex laundering operations and inflicted significant financial losses on victims.
Prosecutors also presented evidence, including images recovered from his phone, which allegedly showed extravagant spending of proceeds from the crimes.
Reacting to the conviction, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Anthony Boyle, condemned the rise in fraud cases targeting Americans.
“This case sends a clear message that anyone who targets victims in our district will be pursued and brought to justice, regardless of their location,” he said.
Owolabi’s conviction adds to the growing list of Nigerians serving prison terms in the United States for financial crimes.
In a related development, authorities recently disclosed plans to deport another Nigerian, Ayobami Omoniyi, after completing a 32-month sentence over his involvement in a $202,000 money laundering scheme.
Investigations revealed that Omoniyi and his associates operated an unlicensed money transfer network linked to business email compromise scams, moving funds obtained from victims, including a company based in Australia.