Crime

How Two Nigerians were Sentenced to 15 Years in U.S. for $5 Million Fraud

Published by Tope Fakinlede on September 7th, 2024.

How Two Nigerians were Sentenced to 15 Years in U.S. for $5 Million Fraud

Jail

Two Nigerian nationals have been handed 15-year and 3-month prison sentences in the U.S. for defrauding individuals and businesses of over $5 million.

Franklin Okwonna, 34, received a sentence of five years and three months from a federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia on Tuesday. His conviction was related to his involvement in a computer hacking and business email compromise scheme, which resulted in losses exceeding $5 million. Okwonna had pleaded guilty on May 20 to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In addition to his prison term, Okwonna was ordered to pay nearly $5 million in restitution for his fraudulent activities, which spanned from February 2016 to July 2021.

Ebuka Umeti, 35, Okwonna’s co-defendant, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on August 27. Umeti was also ordered to pay close to $5 million in restitution. He had been convicted on June 13 by a federal jury for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of wire fraud, and for causing intentional damage to protected computers.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), both Okwonna and Umeti, along with their co-conspirators, used fake business emails to impersonate banks and vendors, defrauding numerous victims across the United States.