By Kolawole Ojebisi
Two Nigerians have been thrown behind bars to serve a 20-year Jail term in a United States prison.
The Nigerian nationals identified as Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, have been incarcerated after being convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a $560,000 romance scam.
In a statement issued on Monday by the US authorities , the Nigerian pair was convicted of perpetrating the scam following a four-day trial and under three hours of jury deliberation.
The US Attorney, Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, revealed this through the Department of Justice.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the two Nigerian nationals, in partnership with other accomplices, initiated a scheme in January 2016, using a fabricated identity, “Glenn Brown,” on a dating website, eHarmony.com.
Prosecutors revealed that the fraudulent profile was later used to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along with other accomplices, the defendants allegedly obtained thousands of US dollars from the victim.
The statement said, “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 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.
“On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check (cheque) for $14,000.”
Although Daramola was said to have denied involvement in the romance scheme, a statement from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office revealed that text and WhatsApp messages on his phone exposed his role in supplying bank accounts for the multiple fraud schemes.
The statement highlighted that Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account “for receiving fraudulent funds.”
It was noted that “Glenn Brown” specifically instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account on March 9 and March 15, 2016.
After receiving the deposits from the victim, Ogunlaja was said to have made several cash withdrawals and transferred them to Daramola’s account.
