A United States federal court has sentenced a Nigerian man to five years and 11 months in prison for his role in a multimillion-naira internet fraud scheme, authorities announced.
Court documents revealed that the convict orchestrated a romance scam that defrauded unsuspecting victims of more than N1.2 billion (approximately $1.4 million). The scheme involved creating fake online identities, luring victims into emotional relationships, and then manipulating them into transferring large sums of money under various false pretenses.
Prosecutors told the court that the Nigerian, whose identity was withheld in accordance with privacy rules governing ongoing investigations, acted in concert with other conspirators both in the U.S. and overseas. The funds, they said, were laundered through multiple accounts before being moved abroad.
Delivering judgment, the presiding judge described the crime as “a calculated exploitation of trust that left emotional and financial devastation in its wake.” The court, therefore, handed down a sentence of nearly six years, noting the severity of the losses suffered by victims across several states.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the forfeiture of assets linked to the fraud and mandated restitution payments to identified victims. Upon completing his sentence, the convict will be deported to Nigeria, in line with U.S. immigration law.
U.S. authorities noted that the conviction underscores the government’s determination to combat cyber-enabled financial crimes, which have increasingly targeted vulnerable individuals through romance scams, business email compromise (BEC), and other online fraud schemes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Justice urged the public to remain vigilant against such scams, warning that perpetrators often exploit digital platforms to prey on emotions and financial vulnerabilities.
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