A U.S.-based Nigerian, Ayobami Omoniyi, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar wire fraud scheme.
The 26-year-old, who was in the United States on a Green Card, was convicted for laundering fraud proceeds through an unlicensed money transmitting business, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
Mr Omoniyi had pleaded guilty to the charges on August 19, 2024. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen sentenced him to 32 months in federal prison.
The judge also ordered him to pay $202,273.80 in restitution and stipulated that he would be deported after serving his sentence.
Court proceedings revealed that Mr Omoniyi had been involved in criminal activities since his arrival in the United States and acted as a recruiter for the fraudulent operation.
According to the Department of Justice, in 2021, he and others ran an unlicensed money transmitting business that received and transferred funds obtained from business email compromise schemes, including targeting a fishing company in Australia.
The victims were tricked into sending payments to accounts controlled by the conspirators after receiving spoofed emails that appeared legitimate.
In his plea, Mr Omoniyi admitted to moving the fraudulently obtained funds through multiple bank accounts and acknowledged receiving payments to transmit for a fee, confirming his active participation in the scheme.
