A British-Nigerian national extradited from the UK to the US has been sentenced to 90 months in prison for his involvement in an international asset fraud scheme.
The verdict convicts the three defendants extradited from the UK in connection with the case.
Court records show that Iheanyichukwu Jonathan Abraham, 44, was among a group of scammers who sent personalized letters to elderly victims in the United States, falsely claiming that the sender was a bank representative in Spain and that the recipient had the right to receive it to receive a multi-million dollar inheritance left to the beneficiary by a family member who had died in Portugal a few years earlier.
Victims were told that before they could receive their alleged inheritance, they would have to wire money for supplies and taxes, and that they would be directed to make other payments. Victims sent money to suspects through a complex network of US accounts ex-victims.
Abraham and his conspirators also persuaded ex-victims to receive money from new victims and then distribute the proceeds of the scam to others.
The other two defendants who were extradited from the United Kingdom also received prison sentences. On June 21, the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams sentenced Emmanuel Samuel to 82 months in prison, and on July 25, Judge Williams sentenced Jerry Chucks Ozor to 87 months in prison for their roles in the scheme.
Two other co-defendants, who were extradited to the United States from Spain, have also pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced in October and November.
“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch will continue to pursue, prosecute, and bring to justice transnational criminals responsible for defrauding U.S. consumers, wherever they are located,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
“We thank our colleagues at the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service for assisting with the successful investigation and extradition of these defendants and the United Kingdom’s National Trading Standards Scams Team for its help in identifying this and other transnational fraud schemes.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) has a long tradition of protecting American citizens from these types of schemes and bringing those responsible to justice,” said Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas of the USPIS Miami Division.
“This result is a testament to the dedicated partnership between the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the USPIS, to protect our citizens from these scams.”
“International criminal organizations using schemes that target and steal from the elderly will be held responsible for their despicable actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown of HSI Arizona.
“This case demonstrates HSI’s commitment, with our partner law enforcement agencies domestically and abroad, to prove wrong those who believe they are beyond the reach of the law. I thank all the law enforcement agencies that dedicated countless hours in making this investigation a significant success.”
The Consumer Protection Branch, USPIS, and HSI are investigating the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Phil Toomajian and Trial Attorneys Josh Rothman and Brianna Gardner of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, Europol, and authorities from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal all provided critical assistance.
