Jury Convicts Man for Role in $5.6 Million International Fraud Scheme
An Indiana man accused of defrauding victims around the world out of more than $5.6 million in an advance fee scheme, is convicted by a federal jury in Texas. Tochukwu Nwosisi was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealment money laundering after a six-day trial.
Nwosisi was accused of taking part in the advance-fee scheme from 2015 to 2018, through a used car dealership he owned and operated in Indiana.
An advance-fee scheme is one where the scammers demand an upfront fee, in exchange for goods or services that never materialize.
According to prosecutors, Nwosisi and co-conspirators based in Nigeria, “induced victims to make large wire payments to bank accounts in the United States on the false belief that payment of the purported advance fees was necessary before the bank would release their funding or inheritance.”
Prosecutors say Nwosisi was the money launderer who accepted victim funds into his U.S. bank accounts and directed the proceeds to the ringleaders in Nigeria.
A 2018 Department of Justice press release on Nwosisi’s arrest, says that the suspect paid himself a portion of the money and used the money to buy vehicles for co-conspirators in Nigeria. Nwosisi also allegedly continued to open new bank accounts, after banks closed other accounts for suspicious activity.
“Those who enable fraudsters by helping them move and hide money taken from victims are just as responsible for their crimes as the people who run the scam themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani of the Southern District of Texas. “Nwosisi took nearly $1 million from victims to enrich himself and his co-conspirators. He deserves to face the consequences for his crimes.”
The FBI and the Department of State Office of Inspector General (DOS-OIG) investigated the case. Nwosisi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. He will be sentenced in June. Six other co-conspirators were also convicted.