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Nigerian jailed seven years for romance scam in US

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A United States District Court on Wednesday sentenced a Nigerian, Olaniyi Nasiru Ojikutu, to seven years in prison for his role in multi-year romance fraud.

The 39-year-old was one of 10 individuals indicted as the result of “Operation Gold Phish,” a Chicago-based investigation that identified a variety of cyber-enabled scams primarily targeting elderly victims.

The prosecutors told the court that Ojikutu opened 25 bank accounts in his own name and company name through which nearly $3.4 million fraudulently obtained from victims were transferred.

The convict was charged by the US authorities in May 2019 but fled to Canada a few weeks later.

READ ALSO: Court sentences Nigerian to four years in prison for $2.5m scam in US

He was apprehended seven months later by Canadian security agents and turned over to their US counterparts in January 2020.

 The Nigerian pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in July 2022.

The prosecutors added that Ojikutu used the proceeds of fraud for his own personal benefit, including purchasing of vehicles in the US and shipping them to Nigeria for resale.

 “As a result of Ojikutu’s actions, some victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” they stated in a court document.

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