A United States federal court has convicted five Nigerian men of defrauding many American citizens
The convicted Nigerians are involved in fake online romances targeting lonely hearts, pandemic unemployment insurance scams.
The criminal gang also preyed on a global tragedy and sophisticated email hacks that drained U.S. businesses.
The full names and addresses of the five criminal syndicates who risk long prison terms have been released.
As reported by PM News, a U.S. federal jury in Puerto Rico convicted the fifth defendant, Oluwasegun Baiyewu of Richmond, Texas.
The 37-year-old was convicted after a marathon 22-day trial.
Baiyewu joins his fellow conspirators:
40-year-old Oluwaseun Adelekan of Staten Island, New York
40-year-old Temitope Omotayo Staten Island, New York
37-year-old Ifeoluwa Dudubo of Austin, Texas,
37-year-old Temitope Suleiman of Richmond, Texas
The U.S. prosecutors said the Nigerians ran hundreds of financial transactions. The syndicates “wash” the loot by buying used cars and shipping them back to Nigeria in a cynical attempt to convert fraud into flashy wealth.
The convicted Nigerians will now face sentencing before Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach of the District of Puerto Rico, where they risk long prison terms.
According to the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Nigerian criminals are “key service providers” for cyber scammers. They warned that the game is up for anyone who thinks they can hide in the shadows of the internet.
The Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the U.S. Justice Department declared that:
“This conviction is a message to transnational organized crime groups and their accomplices: you cannot victimize Americans with impunity.”
Reacting to the conviction of the syndicates, the U.S. Attorney for Puerto Rico, Stephen Muldrow, said:
“The defendants lined their pockets by defrauding vulnerable members of our society. Justice will prevail.”
Recall that Nigerian traditional ruler, Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun state, Oba Joseph Oloyede, was sentenced to six and a half years imprisonment in the United States.
Oba Oloyede was said to have created and led a scheme that defrauded over $4.2 million from the federal loan and grant programmes.
The US court filed three-count charges against the traditional ruler, according to the office of the US Attorney in the Northern District of Ohio.
