Three Nigerians based in the United States of America, Olumide Olorunfunmi, Samson Amos and Emmanuel Unuigbe, could be sentenced to a combined jail term of 60 years for alleged money laundering to the tune of $4.5m.
A statement by the US Department of Justice on Sunday said that the trio conspired among themselves to launder money which caused losses to about 125 victims in the US.
It added that the laundered money was proceeds from romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
The statement noted that while the duo of Amos and Unuigbe pleaded guilty in 2023, Olorunfunmi admitted guilty while being arraigned before a federal court on Friday.
It read, “Olumide Olorunfunmi, 39, a Nigerian national, appeared in federal court in Charlotte today and pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy for laundering millions in criminal proceeds linked to romance scams and business email compromise schemes.
“According to documents filed with the court and today’s plea hearing, the scheme caused more than 125 victims to transfer over $4.5 million of proceeds stemming from illegal activities.”
“Two of Olorunfunmi’s co-conspirators, both Nigerian nationals, have also pleaded guilty to federal charges and are awaiting sentencing.”
Stressing the individual’s role in the scheme, the statement noted that the victims were directed to deposit money into accounts controlled by Amos and his co-conspirators who then transferred the monies to accounts in Nigeria.
The schemes, which were orchestrated between 2020 and 2023, also saw the defendants keeping a percentage of the monies that were deposited by the victims.
It continued, “As Olorunfunmi admitted in court today, from 2020 through 2023, Olorunfunmi conspired with Amos, Unuigbe, and others to launder the criminal proceeds of various illegal activities, including romance scams that typically targeted elderly victims and business email compromise schemes.
“Court records show that the victims of the schemes were directed to transfer funds into domestic and international bank accounts controlled by Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators. Upon receiving the fraud proceeds, Olorunfunmi and his co-conspirators transferred the funds to other bank accounts, in the U.S. and overseas.
“They also profited by agreeing to ‘pay’ for the domestic deposits received by others by transferring Nigerian Naira from accounts the co-conspirators controlled in Nigeria to other accounts, based upon a “black market” exchange rate for United States Dollars to Naira.”
The statement concluded that each of the defendants risks 20 20-year jail term for the offence of conspiracy.
“The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set,” it concluded.
