The following
individuals have been charged in the case:
Afeez Olajide Adebara,
34, U.S. citizen residing in Norman, Oklahoma;
Oluwaseun John
Ogundele, 30, U.S. citizen residing in Norman, Oklahoma, and Brooklyn, New
York;
Joshua Nnandom Ditep,
25, Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States
residing in Norman, Oklahoma;
Paul Usoro, 25,
Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident of the United States residing in
Norman, Oklahoma;
Chibuzo Godwin
Obiefuna Jr, 26, U.S. citizen residing in Norman, Oklahoma, and Long Beach,
California;
Jamiu Ibukun Adedeji,
23, citizen of Nigeria, residing in Norman, Oklahoma;
Tobiloba Kehinde, 27,
citizen of Nigeria residing in Norman Oklahoma;
First and last name
unknown #1, maintained an address in Brooklyn, New York;
First and last name
unknown #2, maintained an address in Dallas, Texas, and
First and last name unknown #3, maintained an address in Dallas, Texas.
Ten men who have been
charged with conspiring to launder illegal proceeds that were fraudulently
obtained as a result of Nigerian romance scam operation targeting multiple
victims.
Assistant Attorney
General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division,
U.S. Attorney Trent Shores of the Northern District of Oklahoma and Special
Agent in Charge Melissa Godbold of the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office made
the announcement.
The indictment was
returned by a federal grand jury in October and unsealed today after seven
suspects were apprehended in early morning operations executed by the FBI in
three states. Five defendants were arrested in Norman, Oklahoma, one defendant
was arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and one defendant was arrested in Long
Beach, California. Three other defendants remain at large.
The indictment alleged
that since 2017, the co-conspirators concealed the proceeds of romance scam
operations by moving money between and among multiple bank accounts that were
opened using fraudulent identity documents to obscure the source of the funds
and the identities of the co-conspirators.
Investigators
identified at least three victims of the alleged romance scams in Seminole,
Florida, Centerville, Ohio, and Pryor, Oklahoma.
The indictment alleges
the co-conspirators coordinated with unknown individuals overseas who had
assumed false identities on online dating websites and social media platforms
with the intent to defraud victims.
The individual told
the victims they were U.S. residents working abroad. In fact, the investigation
revealed that these individuals were located in Nigeria. At the early stages of the “romance”,
victims would receive requests for relatively small gifts, such as iTunes gift
cards and cell phones. As the relationships continued, the requests would
develop into increasingly larger sums of money, with the claimed purpose that
the funds were needed to complete overseas projects or to return to the United
States.
The victims were
directed by the online romance scammers to send funds to the defendants’ bank
accounts, among other things, assuring the victims that they would allocate the
money as needed. The indictment alleged
that, once the victims sent funds, the defendants funneled the money to accounts
that they operated.
These accounts were
allegedly opened under various aliases in order to obscure the source of the
fraudulently obtained funds. In a
further attempt to conceal the source of the money, the co-conspirators also
purchased salvaged vehicles and car parts to export overseas, usually to
Nigeria, the indictment alleges.
