Saheed Sunday Owolabi, a Nigerian citizen, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for “defrauding victims from the United States and laundering over $1.5 million to Nigeria”.
Owolabi was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and
conspiracy to commit money laundering.
A statement published on the website of the United States
attorney’s office, Eastern district of North Carolina, on Tuesday, said the
Owolabi pretended to be a woman to build online relationships with men in the
US in a scheme known as a romance scam.
The statement added that Owolabi and his co-conspirators
“used these fake relationships to cheat victims into sending money and personal
information”.
“Inmate Owolabi and others used bank accounts provided by
the victims to launder money from other fraudulent operations and stole more
than $120,000 from a victim in the EDNC, among many other victims,” the
statement reads.
“In sentencing Inmate Owolabi to 15 years in prison, Chief
Judge Myers determined that Inmate Owolabi was a leader or organizer within an
extensive organization, engaged in sophisticated money laundering, and caused
substantial financial hardship to victims from his schemes.
“At sentencing, the prosecution highlighted images
discovered on Inmate Owolabi’s phone at the time of his arrest showing how he
greedily blew this stolen money.”
Prosecutors told the court that Owolabi’s team gained
unauthorised access to information about a pending home closing and sent
spoofed emails instructing the victim to transfer funds to a bank account they
controlled.
They also showed the court images from Owolabi’s phone in
which he was seen spending the stolen money lavishly.
Speaking about the sentencing, Ellis Boyle, US attorney for
the Eastern district of North Carolina, said those who defrauded citizens of
the country will be made to face justice no matter where they reside.
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