Nigerian Man Charged in US for $300,000 Fraud Scheme

A 45-year-old Nigerian, Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, has been charged by a federal grand jury in the United States. He faces accusations of money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. This is related to a romance scam and a business email fraud scheme.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania shared the news on Wednesday. They claim that Udugba, who lives in Frisco, Texas, led overlapping fraud schemes with other people.

The statement says, “Udugba and others orchestrated overlapping romance and business email compromise schemes.” They used social media and dating sites to build fake romantic relationships with people in different states.

These victims were groomed and then used by Udugba and his partners as money mules. They received and cashed checks that were fraudulently obtained.

The statement claims that the group sent emails from fake addresses in Nigeria. They pretended to be from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The fake emails instructed that FWS grant funds should be paid to fake invoices. These invoices falsely claimed that the money mules were contractors and consultants of FWS who had completed work on projects eligible for grants.

Because of these fraudulent emails and invoices, FWS’s grant administrator paid out more than $300,000. The US Attorney’s Office said that the investigation includes the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd is handling the prosecution.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative. This initiative aims to target criminal organisations and fraud across borders.

The statement added that “the maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release after imprisonment, and a fine.”

But it also reminded everyone that “Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.”