Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, face up to 20 years each in a United States federal prison after being convicted of orchestrating a $560,000 romance scam.
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that the men were found guilty following a four-day trial and less than three hours of jury deliberation. A statement from U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, confirmed the conviction on Monday.
According to the prosecution, the defendants initiated their fraudulent scheme in January 2016, using the fabricated identity “Glenn Brown” on the dating website eHarmony.com. They established a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and, with accomplices, manipulated the victim into transferring significant amounts of money.
Prosecutors said the victim was deceived into believing their financial assistance was necessary for “Glenn Brown” to complete a fictitious construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the U.S.
The victim sent approximately $560,000 to accounts in the U.S., Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017. On September 27, 2016, $28,000 was wired to a Woodforest Bank account under the name “Daramola Cars.” Daramola then transferred $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a $14,000 check.
Text messages and WhatsApp chats recovered from Daramola’s phone revealed his role in supplying bank accounts for fraudulent schemes. Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds, with instructions from “Glenn Brown” to accept $20,000 in cash deposits in March 2016. Ogunlaja later withdrew and transferred the funds to Daramola.
This conviction follows a similar case where two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, were sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding U.S. citizens of $3.5 million through false inheritance claims.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and U.S. Attorney’s Office continue to pursue justice for victims of international fraud schemes, emphasizing the severity of such crimes.
