Two US-based Nigerians receive 30-year prison sentences for their involvement in a $3.5 million romance scam, defrauding victims through fake online relationships.
Two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, have been sentenced by a United States federal jury to a total of 30 years in prison for defrauding several U.S. citizens out of $3.5 million.
The statement reveals that Ibekie and Aniukwu misled their victims by claiming they had received significant inheritances which necessitated payment to access.
The pair would subsequently ask their victims to send them money, promising reimbursement once the inheritances were obtained.
It also mentioned that the pair engaged in romance scams by forming romantic relationships with their victims and then urging them to send money once they had gained their trust.
An undercover law enforcement investigation led to federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals living in the Chicago suburbs, who were involved in online inheritance scams and other fraudulent activities.
Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu used aliases to communicate with victims across the United States, persuading them that they had inherited large sums of money. They convinced these individuals to send funds to people connected with the defendants in order to claim their supposed inheritances.
Besides the inheritance scam, the duo engaged in an online romance scheme where they interacted with victims through social media and dating platforms. They earned their trust by cultivating a supposed romantic relationship online, ultimately persuading them to transfer money to a designated recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie were also behind a ‘business email compromise’ fraud aimed at infiltrating corporate email accounts.
A covert law enforcement investigation uncovered the fraud schemes, which caused victims to incur losses of at least $3.5 million.
The statement mentioned that after being arraigned on at least 14 counts, the pair pleaded guilty to their various charges.
After pleading guilty, Ibekie was sentenced to a 20-year prison term on Thursday, while Aniukwu received a 10-year sentence on November 8.
The statement went on to say, “Earlier this year, a federal jury found 59-year-old Ibekie from Oswego, Illinois guilty of all 14 charges including wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. On Thursday U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.”
Aniukwu, a 50-year-old resident of Romeoville, Illinois, admitted guilt to wire fraud and money laundering charges last year. On November 8, 2024, Judge Seeger sentenced him to a decade in prison.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Gosha, a U.S. citizen and accomplice of Ibekie and Aniukwu, is set to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty.
The statement concluded by noting that Jennifer Gosha, 52, from Oak Park, Illinois and a U.S. citizen, was the third defendant who pled guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. She is set to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024.
