A Nigerian man, Isaiah Okere, has pleaded guilty to charges arising from his participation in an international conspiracy to defraud at least 15 victims of romance schemes.
Okere who was extradited to the United States to answer for his crime, also admitted to participating in lottery scams and business email compromise schemes before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, who made the announcement said Okere pleaded guilty on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
“Isaiah Okere and his co-conspirators preyed on elderly and vulnerable victims, some of whom lost their entire life savings. Even though he operated his scams from a country halfway around the world, this Office’s global reach ensures that he will be held accountable in the United States for his crimes,” Williams said.
According to Count One of the Information to which OKERE pleaded guilty and other statements and submissions made in Court:
From at least in or about 2015 up to and including November 2019, OKERE and co-conspirator Timy Hakim conspired with members of the “Black Axe” transnational criminal organization to engage in fraudulent schemes that left at least 15 people and entities with over a million dollars in losses. OKERE facilitated the laundering of proceeds of three types of fraud schemes, a “Romance Scheme,” a “Lottery Scheme,” and a “BEC Fraud Scheme.”
Through the Romance Scheme, a vulnerable individual was led to believe she or he was in a romantic online relationship with a perpetrator of the Scheme when, in fact, the perpetrator merely used this as a mechanism to build the victim’s trust and solicit the victim’s money.
Through the Lottery Scheme, the scheme participants informed certain victims that they had won a cash prize but first needed to make certain payments to access the funds.
Through the BEC Fraud Scheme, the scheme participants induced a corporate victim located in Manhattan to release company funds under fraudulent pretences by impersonating the founder of the company.
OKERE used accounts under false identities to communicate directly with his U.S. victims. He also controlled multiple foreign bank accounts in South Africa that received funds from victims targeted by these schemes.
At least 15 individual and corporate victims lost money as part of OKERE, Hakim, and their co-conspirators’ schemes. They include vulnerable, isolated, and elderly victims who entered into relationships after the deaths of their spouses and, over a period of several years, were induced to drain their entire retirement savings and take out loans from family and friends.
Many victims experienced severe emotional harm, including a woman who reported becoming suicidal after losing her retirement savings to this scheme.
Okere, 42, a citizen of the Republic of Nigeria, was arrested in South Africa on the basis of a provisional arrest warrant in December 2021 and was extradited on August 23, 2024. He pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
On September 27, 2023, co-defendant Timy Hakim was sentenced to two years in prison and was ordered to pay $1,414,043 in restitution and forfeit $671,452.
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Williams also thanked the South African Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa, and the South African Police Service. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from South Africa.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vladislav Vainberg is in charge of the prosecution.
