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HomeCRIME & PUNISHMENTCYBERCRIMENigerian Fraudster Tolulope Samuel Bodunde Sentenced to Prison in U.S. for Role...

Nigerian Fraudster Tolulope Samuel Bodunde Sentenced to Prison in U.S. for Role in Business Email Compromise Scheme

Tolulope Samuel Bodunde, 33, a citizen of Nigeria residing in Newark, New Jersey, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release for his participation in a business email compromise scheme that operated out of multiple countries, including the United States.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Bodunde participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by his co-conspirator, Okechuckwu Valentine Osuji.

Osuji and his co-conspirators targeted specific individuals and businesses by masquerading as trustworthy entities in electronic communications to obtain money.

They utilised unwitting and witting “money mules” to receive fraud proceeds in their bank accounts and then transferred those funds to accounts under the control of Osuji and his co-conspirators.

Over the course of the scheme’s years-long operation, numerous victims were tricked into transferring funds into bank accounts the victims believed were under the control of legitimate recipients of the funds as part of normal business operations, when in reality, the bank accounts were controlled by Osuji and his co-conspirators.

The victims included a Connecticut-based financial company, a Colorado-based lending company, an Alaska-based nonprofit performing arts organisation, a New York-based food and beverage company, and others.

Bodunde’s role in the scheme included the exploitation of elderly women through romance scams to serve as unwitting money mules.

Judge Meyer ordered Bodunde to pay restitution totalling $494,939 to three victims of this scheme.

Bodunde was arrested on August 7, 2020. On February 16, 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud.  He is required to report to prison on November 19.

On May 1, 2024, a jury found Osuji, also a citizen of Nigeria, guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft offences stemming from this scheme. He is detained while awaiting sentencing.

A third alleged co-coconspirator is pending extradition proceedings.

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