Three US-based Nigerians jailed for defrauding elderly Americans

Three Nigerians have been sentenced to various jail terms 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, on Wednesday announced the sentencing of the three individuals in a report published on an official website of the US government.

According to the report, the defendants 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 Attorney 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.

Okunola 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.

His sentences will run concurrently with the sentence for his participation in the conspiracy, while 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 report read.

“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.”

The report revealed that these relationships centered 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.

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 dollars in their accounts from the scheme between 2017 and 2022.