A 39-year-old Nigerian, Olaniyi Nasiru Ojikutu, has been sentenced to over seven years in prison in the United States for his role in an international romance sc@m.
He was one of 10 people indicted as a result of Operation Gold Phish – a Chicago-based probe that identified an assortment of sc@ms targeting elderly victims, CBSNews reports.
Prosecutors said Ojikutu, a permanent legal resident of the United States, helped lead a multi-year fr@ud scheme carried out by sc@mmers in the U.S. and Nigeria. The schemers targeted elderly victims through fake online romances, and persuaded the victims to send money after building trust.
Over a period of about three years, Ojikutu opened about 25 bank accounts in his own name, a fake name, and a shell company through which he transferred about $3.4 million in fr@udulently-obtained money, prosecutors said.
When Ojikutu first found out about charges against him in May 2019, he got on a bus and went to Canada, prosecutors said. But he was apprehended several months later and was turned over to U.S. authorities in January 2020.
Ojikutu pleaded guilty to one count of wire fr@ud in July of last year and was sentenced to 88 months in prison on Wednesday.
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