A 60-year-old Nigerian man named Okechukwu Josiah Odunna was extradited to the US to face charges related to a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded US financial institutions of about $8 million.
Odunna is charged with being a major player in a fraud scheme, obtaining loans fraudulently in order to purchase about 20 residential properties in Florida. He was arrested by Nigerian authorities on September 24, 2024, following a U.S. extradition request.
According to the indictment, between December 2005 and approximately May 2008, Odunna and his co-conspirators devised a scheme to defraud and to obtain money by making false representations and material omissions to U.S. banking institutions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office also claimed that as part of the scheme, Odunna and his co-conspirators would, among other things, submit false and fraudulent loan applications and documents to financial institutions relating to purchases of residential properties, resulting in lenders loaning out more money than they otherwise would.
These false statements to the lenders included false names of the persons who would be borrowing the money to purchase the properties, falsely inflated sale prices that were much higher than the true prices and false details regarding the receipt and disbursement of funds in connection with the purchases of the properties.
“Odunna, who was a licensed attorney at the time, was also one of the directors of Direct Title and Escrow Services, Inc. (DTES). Odunna was the settlement agent in approximately 20 fraudulent closings of property purchases,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office added.
“To disguise the fraud, Odunna and his co-conspirators provided sellers and lenders with two different settlement statements, which included false information and omitted information regarding the sale price, the identity of the purchaser, and the receipt and the disbursement of funds.”
According to the indictment, Karl Oreste, Marie Lucie Tondreau, and Kelly Augustin were among Odunna’s co-conspirators.
Oreste pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 100 months in prison. Tondreau, who was the former mayor of North Miami, was convicted at trial. She was sentenced to 65 months in prison. Augustin remains a fugitive.
Today, Odunna is scheduled to appear in a Miami federal court for the first time. If convicted, Odunna faces up to 30 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution charge and up to 30 years in prison on the wire fraud affecting a financial institution charge.
Each count also carries the possibility of a fine and supervised release upon completion of any prison sentence. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
