Obinwanne Okeke, the Nigerian businessman owner of Invictus
Group who was arrested in the United States last year, has pleaded guilty to
$11 million (N4.2 billion) fraud.
Okeke, 32, admitted to American prosecutors that he was
involved in computer-based fraud between 2015 and 2019.
Joshua Stueve, a spokesperson for the United States District
Court for Eastern District of Virginia, disclosed on Thursday evening that
Mr Okeke could spend 20 years maximum penalty in an American jail.
He would be sentenced on October 22, Mr Stueve said.
“A federal district court judge will determine any sentence
after taking into account the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory
factors,” the court official said.
Robert Krask, an American judge of the district, certified
the guilty plea on Thursday morning to clear the paths for Mr Okeke’s
sentencing.
Mr Okeke and other alleged conspirators said to still be at
large were accused of targeting American businesses in a probe led by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Unatrac, a subsidiary of heavy equipment giant Caterpillar,
was amongst the companies said to have been targeted by the cartel in a
business email compromise scheme for several years. Over $11 million was said
to have been traced to the ring, amidst claims that Mr Okeke allegedly used
proceeds of his illicit dealings to build a business empire in Abuja and other
parts of Nigeria.
Mr Okeke was arrested in August 2019 as he was about leaving
the United States for Nigeria. He was held in jail for several months.
He initially pleaded not guilty and was remanded by
different district court judges. He later backed down and admitted to his
involvement in the fraud scheme.
"What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his soul". Sad what greed can do to a man. He will likely lose most of his ill -gotten wealth. Girlfriends will chart their own course with what ever they can lay hands on so will business associates. Most of his identified properties will be confiscated so with money in bank. He will definitely experience two world by the time he leaves the prisons. To start with most of his friends will disappear and he will start to have bitter memory of how he used to bath with champagne worth millions of naira while celebrating his birthday .
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