Three Nigerians have been jailed in the U.S. for participating in an international mail and wire fraud scheme originating in Nigeria and frequently targeting elderly individuals.
The United States Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark A. Totten announced the sentencing in a statement on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
According to the statement, the defendants, Fatai Okunola, Oluwaseyi Adeola and Ijeoma Adeola, pleaded guilty in July 2024.
“Financial fraud is not a ‘faceless’ crime – and today’s sentencings help secure a measure of justice for the victims of this international fraud scheme,” said U.S Attorney Mark Totten.
“Some of the victims lost their retirement savings, took loans against their homes, or suffered other financial distress because of the defendants’ lies. The defendants used modern technology, including the internet and social media platforms – something we all rely upon every day to communicate and carry out legitimate tasks in our daily lives – to prey on elderly and vulnerable victims. My office will continue to vigorously pursue justice for the victims of financial fraud.”
Fatai Okunola, 38, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was sentenced to 121 months imprisonment for his role in the fraud conspiracy and ordered to pay restitution of $731,879.16; he was additionally sentenced to 60 months imprisonment for making false statements when seeking naturalization as a U.S. Citizen and 120 months imprisonment for committing money laundering with the proceeds from the fraud conspiracy, those sentences running concurrently with the sentence for his participation in the conspiracy. The court also ordered him to report to immigration authorities for deportation following his sentence.
Oluwaseyi Adeola, 34, of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment for his role in the fraud conspiracy and ordered to pay restitution of $409,968.93.
Ijeoma Adeola, 36, also of Dallas, Texas, was sentenced to three years probation for misprision of a felony (the failure to report the commission of a felony to appropriate authorities and taking an affirmative step to assist in the concealment of the crime) and ordered to pay restitution of $48,570.
Cory McDougal, 33, of Romeoville, Illinois, who also pled guilty to the fraud conspiracy, will be sentenced on a later date to be determined by the court.
According to court records, the defendants conspired with individuals primarily in Nigeria to defraud individuals in the United States, many of whom were elderly or particularly vulnerable, through a variety of fraud schemes using interstate wire transmissions or the mail system.
The conspirators in Nigeria created false online personas to develop relationships with their victims over the internet, through social media, by text messages or by telephone.
These relationships centred around romantic interests, offers to buy or sell goods or services, apartment rentals, or offers to make loans or provide grant funding, among other schemes.
The conspirators sent pictures or provided other information to the victims to make their schemes appear genuine. When the conspirators used telephone calls, they used voice-over-internet-protocol numbers to make it appear as if the calls were originating within the United States near the victims. After developing the relationships, the conspirators asked for money for a variety of reasons related to the scheme.
After the victims agreed, the conspirators directed the victims to send the money to the defendants, who opened numerous bank accounts to receive the victims’ money.
On some occasions, the defendants received the victims’ money in post office boxes maintained under alias names or through payments made payable to “shell” businesses that the defendants, including Ijeoma Adeola, created to receive fraud proceeds.
The victims sent the money to the defendants through the mail, bank-to-bank transfers, or through peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle or PayPal. After the defendants received the money in their accounts, they transferred the money to each other, to the conspirators overseas, and to their own accounts in Nigeria.
Fatai Okunola used some of the fraud proceeds he received to assist others in purchasing automobiles in the United States and then exporting them to Nigeria.
According to the indictment, the defendants received more than $2 million in their accounts from the scheme between 2017 and 2022.
“Our agents will continue the important work of dismantling interstate and international fraud schemes that would seek to rob Americans of their hard-earned money,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar.
“These cases are too often a reminder for us to check in on elderly family members and members of our community to ensure that they are not taken advantage of by sophisticated schemes.”
“Today’s sentencing of these defendants underscores our dedication to safeguarding vulnerable victims from those who attempt to exploit them through various fraud schemes,” said Rodney M. Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Detroit Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
“This case’s outcome showcases the outstanding efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and our law enforcement partners in dismantling this international fraud scheme and delivering justice for those affected.”
