A United States court has sentenced a 39-year-old Nigerian national, Okechukwu Osuji, to eight years’ imprisonment for defrauding organisations and individuals to the tune of $6m.

Osuji was sentenced in New Haven, Connecticut on Wednesday for operating a business email compromise scheme out of multiple countries, including the United States.

Similarly, his Nigerian accomplice, Tolulope Bodunde pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison on October 16, 2024.

The Department of Justice disclosed this on Thursday adding that Osuji was apprehended in Malaysia and extradited to the US in 2022.

According to documents and statements made in court, Osuji and his co-conspirators targeted specific individuals and businesses by impersonating reliable organisations in electronic communications to obtain money.

The documents revealed that Osuji had used his victims as “money mules” to receive fraud proceeds in their bank accounts.

He would then either transfer those funds from the money mule accounts to accounts under the co-conspirators’ control or convert the stolen proceeds to cash for further transfer.

“Over the years-long operation of the scheme, numerous victims were tricked into transferring funds into bank accounts the victims believed were under the control of legitimate recipients as part of normal business operations,” DOJ stated.

The US justice agency asserted that the bank accounts were controlled by Osuji and his accomplices.

It said, “The victims included a Connecticut-based financial company, a Colorado-based lending company, an Alaska-based nonprofit performing arts organisation, a New York-based food and beverage company, and many others.”

The 39-year-old was also involved in exploiting the aged through romance scams to serve as some of the unwitting money mules, including one woman who testified at trial that she was duped into sending her savings and income, social security cheques to an individual she believed to be her romantic partner, but who later happened to be Osuji’s co-conspirators.

On May 1, 2024, a jury in New Haven found Osuji guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Osuji was ordered to pay restitution to his victims.

His alleged co-conspirator, John Wamuigah, remains in Malaysia and is pending extradition proceedings.

[Punch]