Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, have been slammed with up to 20 years jail terms in a United States prison after a federal jury found them guilty of masterminding a $560,000 romance scam.
US Attorney Alexander Uballez and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, Raul Bujanda revealed through the Department of Justice that Ogunlaja and Daramola were convicted of perpetrating the scam following a four-day trial and under three hours of jury deliberation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in a statement stated that the two Nigerians, in partnership with other accomplices, initiated a scheme in January 2016, using a fabricated identity, “Glenn Brown,” on the dating website, eHarmony.com.
They revealed that the fraudulent profile was later used to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Along with other accomplices, the defendants allegedly obtained thousands of US dollars from the victim.
The statement said, “Throughout the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for ‘Glenn Brown’ to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.
“The victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.
“On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check (cheque) for $14,000.”
Though Daramola was said to have denied involvement in the romance scheme, a statement from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office revealed that text and WhatsApp messages on his phone exposed his role in supplying bank accounts for the multiple fraud schemes.
The statement highlighted that Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account “for receiving fraudulent funds.”
It was noted that “Glenn Brown” specifically instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account on March 9 and March 15, 2016.
After receiving the deposits from the victim, Ogunlaja was said to have made several cash withdrawals and transferred them to Daramola’s account.
