A Nigerian national, Saheed Sunday Owolabi, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in the United States for his role in a large-scale fraud and money laundering scheme.
The conviction was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
A jury found Owolabi guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
What they are saying
According to authorities, the scheme involved defrauding victims across the United States and laundering over $1.5 million to Nigeria through a network of fraudulent activities.
- “A federal judge sentenced a Nigerian man, Saheed Sunday Owolabi, to 15 years in federal prison for his role defrauding victims from the United States and laundering over $1.5 million to Nigeria,” they said
- “Inmate Owolabi pretended to be a woman to build online relationships with men in the United States, a scheme known as a romance scam. He 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,” they added.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said the case demonstrates the government’s commitment to prosecuting fraudsters targeting Americans.
- “Inmate Owolabi stole from our vulnerable citizens. This case shows that if you try to defraud the citizens of the Eastern District of North Carolina, our office will bring you to justice no matter where you are. Cheaters. Never. Win,” he said.
More insights
At sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II found that Owolabi acted as a leader within a sophisticated criminal network that caused significant financial hardship to victims.
- “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,” they said
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.
What you should know
The U.S. Department of Justice has since intensified investigations and prosecutions related to pandemic-related fraud, recovering billions of dollars and securing multiple convictions from those who illegally obtained relief funds
- Nairametrics previously reported that a Nigerian national, Tochukwu Albert Nnebocha, was sentenced to more than eight years in prison in the United States for an inheritance fraud scheme that defrauded over 400 victims of more than $6 million.
- Adepoju Babatunde Salako, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. He was involved in a conspiracy that fraudulently obtained over $5 million from government relief programmes, including PPP and unemployment benefits, using stolen identities and romance scam tactics.
In another case, three Nigerian nationals also pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court for laundering over $4.5 million in fraud proceeds linked to romance scams and business email compromise schemes that targeted more than 125 victims.
