A 34-year-old Nigerian, Saheed Sunday Owolabi, has been found guilty by a U.S. federal jury for his involvement in a series of cyber fraud schemes, including wire fraud, money laundering, and romance scams.
The jury convicted Mr Owolabi on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Wednesday.
Mr Owolabi, who is scheduled for sentencing in January 2026, faces up to 40 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Court documents and trial evidence, as cited by the DoJ, revealed Mr Owolabi’s disguise to be a “woman to build online romantic relationships with men in the United States, luring them into sending him money and their personal information”.
According to court records, Mr Owolabi and others used bank accounts belonging to the victims to launder funds from other fraudulent operations.
In one instance of Mr Owolabi’s involvement in a fraudulent scheme, the DoJ said, he stole and laundered more than $120,000 from a victim in the Eastern District of North Carolina and defrauded hundreds of others.
“Fraud schemes like this drain millions from hardworking people in our communities,” U.S. attorney Ellis Boyle said.
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“We will continue to work with our federal partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who abuse the anonymity of the internet to enrich themselves by stealing from our citizens.”
