A US-based Nigerian man, Ronayerin Ogolor, has been sentenced to three years in prison for internet fraud in America after pleading guilty in 2019.
The 51-year-old man was sentenced by US Chief District Judge, Beth Phillips, and ordered to pay $871,739 in restitution to his 13 victims, DailyMail reports.
According to court documents, 13 victims from the US and Italy each sent thousands of dollars to Ogolor.
In October 2019, Ogolor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
He accepted responsibility for his role in a scam that targeted singles seeking love, some of who are elderly, through Facebook and dating websites ChristianMingle.com and LetsHangout.com.
According to a statement from the US Department of Justice, since 2013, Ogolor and his accomplices created several fake online dating profiles.
Thereafter, they contacted men and women using the profiles throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, ‘with whom they cultivated a sense of affection and often romance.’
After establishing relationships with their ‘marks’ by constant communication online and over the phone, Ogolor and his co-conspirators proceeded to ask for money for supposed hospital fees, travel expenses, customs expenses, golf import taxes, or investment opportunities.
Thereafter, the fraudsters often claim more funds were needed complete their false business deal, despite receiving the first fund.
Sometimes, the women sold their personal property, including houses and cars, to raise money for the criminals.
In one of the cases, a widow from Indiana who received a friend request on Facebook was led to believe that one of Ogolor’s accomplices was a widower named ‘Lawrence Garrison’ working on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana, requesting for money from the widow.
Another component of the sprawling scam was business email hacking, where Ogolor and his cohorts fraudulently obtained checks from businesses with the help of their unsuspecting victims.
According to prosecutors, as part of the plot Ogolor opened several bank accounts in his name and in the names of sham businesses.
The romance fraud victims wired and deposited their money and money from counterfeit or fraudulently obtained checks into Ogolor’s accounts.
After five years of defrauding, Ogolor was arrested in October 2018, by US authorities at Kansas City International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Frankfurt, Germany.
