A person from Atlanta, Georgia has been convicted of working romance scams and enterprise e mail compromise assaults that netted him over $9.5 million, the US Justice Division has introduced.
“Elvis Eghosa Ogiekpolor has been sentenced to 25 years in federal jail for cash laundering and conspiracy to commit cash laundering after being convicted at trial,” the Justice Division stated in a press launch. “Ogiekpolor opened and directed others to open at the very least 50 fraudulent enterprise financial institution accounts that acquired over $9.5 million {dollars} from numerous on-line frauds, together with romance frauds and enterprise e mail compromise scams (‘BECs’). He then laundered the fraud proceeds utilizing different accounts, together with dozens of accounts abroad.”
13 victims of the romance scams, principally ladies, testified in Ogiekpolor’s trial, although the Justice Division notes that there have been many extra victims of the fraud operation.
“The victims recounted how they met male strangers on-line and had been quickly satisfied they had been in a romantic relationship with the lads, regardless that the victims had been in communication with the people for months with out assembly in particular person,” the Justice Division says. “Usually these males claimed they wished to start out a life with the victims and had been desirous to stay with them as quickly as some type of concern was resolved. For instance, one romance fraud sufferer was satisfied to wire $32,000 to one of many accounts Ogiekpolor managed as a result of her ‘boyfriend’ (one of many males on-line) claimed part of his oil rig wanted to get replaced however that his checking account was frozen.
This sufferer borrowed in opposition to her retirement and financial savings to offer the funds, which in the end required her to refinance her dwelling to pay again the mortgage. One other sufferer testified that she was satisfied to ship practically $70,000 as a result of the person she met on eHarmony claimed to wish cash to promptly make fee on a number of invoices resulting from a frozen checking account.”
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The US Justice Division has the story.
