Metro

Two Nigerians sentenced to 30 years in prison over $3.5m romance scam in the US

Published

5 months ago

November 26, 2024

Two Nigerian fraudsters identified as Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, have been sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding American citizens of $3.5 million in a romance and inheritance scam.

In a statement published on the US Department of Justice website, the Nigerians were on Monday, found guilty of the crime and jailed by a United States federal court on charges of orchestrating a romance scam and luring victims with false claims of inheriting substantial fortunes that required upfront payments to access.

The statement explained that law enforcement conducted an undercover investigation that exposed the fraud schemes.

“An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes,” the Department said.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient.

“Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.

“A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Ill., on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison,” the statement said.

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