A 39-year-old Nigerian national, Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in the United States for operating a $6.3 million business email compromise scheme.
Osuji was arrested in Malaysia in 2022 and extradited to the US, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, Osuji and his co-conspirators targeted specific individuals and businesses by masquerading as trustworthy entities in electronic communications to obtain money. They used “money mules” to receive fraud proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred those funds to accounts under their control.
The scheme, which operated for several years, resulted in numerous victims being tricked into transferring funds into bank accounts controlled by Osuji and his co-conspirators.
The victims included a Connecticut-based financial company, a Colorado-based lending company, an Alaska-based nonprofit performing arts organization, and a New York-based food and beverage company, among others.
Osuji’s co-conspirators also exploited elderly individuals through romance scams, using them as unwitting “money mules.”
One woman testified that she was duped into sending her personal savings and income, including Social Security checks, to an individual she believed to be her romantic partner, but who was actually one of Osuji’s co-conspirators.
The scam resulted in the near-total depletion of the woman’s life savings, causing her to declare bankruptcy and leading to the repossession of her house.
Osuji was ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
Osuji’s alleged co-conspirator, John Wamuigah, remains in Malaysia and is pending extradition proceedings. Another co-conspirator, Tolulope Bodunde, a Nigerian citizen, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI New Haven Field Office and the Stamford Police Department, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Royal Malaysia Police, and Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers. Trial Attorney Lydia Lichlyter and Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel are prosecuting the case.
