Two Nigerians, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, face up to 20 years in a United States prison after being convicted of carrying out a $560,000 romance fraud.
The verdict was delivered after a four-day trial, followed by less than three hours of jury deliberation, according to U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez and FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda.
The duo, along with accomplices, initiated the scam in January 2016, using a fake eHarmony.com profile under the name “Glenn Brown” to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Prosecutors stated, “Throughout the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for ‘Glenn Brown’ to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.”
The victim sent approximately $560,000 between January 2016 and April 2017 to accounts in the U.S., Canada, and Malaysia. One notable transaction saw the victim wire $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account controlled by Daramola in September 2016.
READ ALSO:Man arraigned over alleged N146m visa scam in Ekiti
According to court records, Daramola wired $18,000 of this to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a $14,000 cheque.
The FBI revealed text and WhatsApp messages showing Daramola’s role in providing bank accounts for the scam.
Ogunlaja, on the other hand, received funds directly, with “Glenn Brown” instructing the victim to deposit $20,000 into Ogunlaja’s Bank of America account. Afterwards, Ogunlaja made withdrawals and transferred portions to Daramola.
“This conviction demonstrates the commitment of U.S. authorities to combat transnational fraud,” Uballez stated.
Sentencing for Ogunlaja and Daramola is expected later this year.
