A Nigerian resident in the United States, Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, has been indicted by a federal grand jury over his alleged involvement in a romance scam and business email compromise scheme that reportedly defrauded a US government agency of more than $300,000.
Udugba, 45, who lives in Frisco, Texas, was charged with money laundering as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, according to a statement issued on Wednesday by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
US Attorney Brian Miller alleged that Udugba and his co conspirators operated intertwined romance fraud and business email compromise schemes by targeting victims through social media platforms and online dating sites.
Investigators said the suspects allegedly built fake romantic relationships with victims across several states before persuading them to act as money mules by receiving and cashing fraudulently obtained cheques.
Prosecutors further alleged that members of the syndicate used spoofed email addresses traced to Nigeria to impersonate officials of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to the authorities, the fraudulent emails instructed that grant funds belonging to the agency be used to settle fake invoices, falsely claiming that the money mules were contractors and consultants engaged on grant eligible projects.
The alleged scheme reportedly convinced the agency’s grant administrator to authorise payments exceeding $300,000.
If convicted, Udugba could face a maximum prison sentence of 30 years, in addition to a period of supervised release and financial penalties.
However, prosecutors emphasised that the indictment is only an allegation and that the defendant remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
The development comes months after another US based Nigerian, Ifeanyi Ugwu, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that handled more than $5 million in illegally obtained funds.
Ugwu, 49, admitted to running the operation between December 2020 and August 2023, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
