A 57-year-old Nigerian national, Uche Victor Diuno, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a sophisticated fraud conspiracy that targeted victims in over 20 countries, resulting in nearly $5.7 million in losses.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, who made the announcement on Thursday, February 1, 2024, said Diuno was part of an international fraud ring that deceived victims with false promises of lucrative investment opportunities and inheritances.
Posing as officials from prominent U.S. banks, Diuno and his accomplices lured victims into making payments under the guise of securing investment and money transfer agreements. These payments were subsequently laundered through U.S. bank accounts and funnelled back to the orchestrators of the scheme in Nigeria.
During his plea, Diuno admitted to employing multiple aliases to enhance the credibility of the scam and acknowledged his role in laundering the funds obtained from victims. Following the scheme leader’s instructions, he directed associates to distribute the illicit proceeds, which included buying vehicles in the U.S. to ship to Nigeria.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett accepted Diuno’s guilty plea, with sentencing scheduled for May 9. Diuno faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison for each charge, alongside a maximum fine that could total $500,000 or twice the amount of the victims’ losses.
He will remain in custody until the sentencing date.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of State – Office of Inspector General led the investigation into the fraud scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Latham and Trial Attorney Philip Trout of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are handling the prosecution.
In June 2023, Diuno was extradited from France to the United States to face charges for his alleged leadership role in the conspiracy.
He is accused of spearheading a network that sent phishing emails to potential victims, falsely offering investment funding from BB&T Corporation and other U.S. banks.
The scam involved impersonating U.S. bank officials, orchestrating sham meetings, and fabricating documents to mislead victims into believing their investment agreements were legitimate and sponsored by the U.S. government.
Diuno, described as a “chairman” or leader of the fraud network, was charged alongside five other individuals in a second superseding indictment filed on October 3, 2018.
The charges include one count of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of concealment money laundering, with the scheme resulting in over $7 million in losses.
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