Nigerian Man Sentenced To Over 8 Years In U.S. Prison For Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Targeting
Okoro, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen after relocating from Nigeria in 2013, was found guilty in September 2023 after a five-day jury trial.
A 50-year-old Nigerian man, Omoyoma Christopher Okoro, has been sentenced to 100 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson, following his conviction on multiple charges of fraud.
Okoro was sentenced on September 19, 2024. The convict was also ordered to pay $22,565,929.18 in restitution and will serve five years of supervised release after completing his sentence.
Okoro, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen after relocating from Nigeria in 2013, was found guilty in September 2023 after a five-day jury trial.
The charges against him included conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, mail fraud affecting a financial institution, and bank fraud.
He was also charged with two counts of wire fraud and an additional count of mail fraud.
According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Okoro was involved in a fraudulent scheme that targeted attorneys in the United States between 2006 and 2010.
He conspired with others to mislead legal professionals through what became known as the “attorney collection scheme,” wherein a supposed “client” from abroad falsely claimed to require legal representation, ultimately leading to significant financial losses for the victims.
Karam explained that the client would typically claim to be owed money from someone in the United States resulting from a business transaction, settlement from a dispute, or an accident. If the attorney responded to the initial inquiry, the attorney would then be told that the other party had agreed to settle the matter and was prepared to make a payment.
“Soon after that, the attorney would receive a counterfeit ‘official check’ supposedly issued by a U.S. bank in the mail. The attorney was directed by the client to deposit the check into his or her law firm escrow account, keep a portion of the funds as payment for services, and wire the balance to a foreign bank account, typically located in an East Asian country.
“Once the funds reached the foreign bank account, they were immediately withdrawn by a member of the conspiracy, generally before the attorney victim realized that he or she had been defrauded. The attorney and the attorney’s bank would then be left responsible for the loss once they realized that the official check was counterfeit,” Karam stated.
Karam said the evidence at trial showed Okoro communicating with numerous other members of the conspiracy, including individuals responsible for furnishing the financial accounts in East Asia used to receive victim funds, as well as individuals who appeared to be in contact with attorney victims.
“On numerous occasions, Okoro was either the sender or recipient of emails confirming that an attorney victim had wired funds to a foreign bank account. In addition, evidence at trial showed funds flowing back to Okoro from coconspirators located in the area of Toronto, Canada, where several key members of the conspiracy resided.
“In total, it is believed that over $23 million in fraudulent proceeds were actually obtained through the attorney collection scheme, and over $80 million in attempted fraud occurred,” Karam added.
Okoro represents the latest defendant to be prosecuted in this district for his role in the attorney collection scheme. Prior defendants include Emmanuel Ekhator and Yvette Mathurin, previously residents of Canada and Nigeria, and Kingsley Osagie of Nigeria.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Romel Sharma, Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Williams, and Shaunik R. Panse, previously a Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, prosecuted the case.
This case and other prior cases related to the attorney collection scheme were previously handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Fawcett, Kim Douglas Daniel, Chelsea Schinnour, and Paul J. Miovas, Jr.
