November 26, 2024
By Samuel Ogunsona
A United States Federal jury has sentenced two Nigerian nationals, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding US citizens of $3.5 million.
According to a press release on the US Department of Justice website, Ibekie and Aniukwu deceived their victims by telling them that they had received substantial inheritances that required some money to claim.
The duo would then request their victims to send some amounts of money with a promise to refund them once the inheritances were claimed.
The press release stated, “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.
“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.”
Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Aniukwu received a 10-year sentence.
A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, a US citizen, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent.
