A United States of America court has sentenced a 42-year-old Lagos resident, Benard Okorhi to 75 months in federal prison for his role in an international fraud conspiracy.
Okorhi was arrested in Nigeria and extradited to the United States for prosecution.
It was gathered that one Ayodeji Ojo has also been arrested in Nigeria and is awaiting extradition as several of their alleged co-conspirators remain at large, including Okorhi’s brother, Victor Okhori, Dennis Miah and Sumaila Hardi Wumpini.
Okorhi was convicted for using compromised email accounts to steal from businesses and romance scams on internet dating sites to trick individuals into wiring money overseas.
The Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr., while announcing the sentence on Wednesday revealed that the convict has taken approximately $8 million from U.S residents.
The total scheme was said to have netted over $10 million worldwide during the criminal enterprise’s five-year lifespan.
In the evidence presented in court by the FBI led investigation, Okorhi and others, some U.S. citizens, some residents of Ghana and Nigeria – created fake profiles on online dating services to entice people looking for companionship into fraudulent relationships.
Once the victim was fully involved, according to the evidence, the scammers would develop elaborate storylines that always required the victim to send financial assistance to their beloved.
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