US-Based Nigerian Bag 3-Yr Jail Term For $900,000 Love Scam

A naturalised US citizen from Nigeria, Ronayerin Ogolor, living in Kansas City, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit internet fraud in a romance scam, has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. 

Ogolor, who is 51, was sentenced by US Chief District Judge, Beth Phillips.

The convict had admitted to running an elaborate romance scam and bilking more than a dozen people in the US and abroad out of nearly $900,000.

He was also ordered by Judge Philips to pay $871,739 in restitution to his 13 victims.

Mailonline reports that  Ogolor, had in October 2019, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit internet fraud. 

The reports added that the convict accepted responsibility for his role in a scam that targeted singles seeking love, some of them elderly, through Facebook and dating websites ChristianMingle.com and LetsHangout.com.

A statement issued by the US Department of Justice disclosed that Ogolor and his  accomplices, since 2013, created several bogus online dating profiles then contacted men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, “with whom they cultivated a sense of affection and often romance.”

Furthermore, it said Ogolor and his co-conspirators, after establishing relationships with their “marks” by communicating with them online and on the phone, proceeded to ask for money for hospital fees, travel expenses, ‘customs expenses,’ ‘golf import taxes,’ or investment opportunities. 

The victims were then directed by the two to wire, transfer or deposit money into various bank accounts, including those opened and maintained by Ogolor. 

More funds were requested by the convicts, often after the victims handed over the money, claiming that they were needed “to release the package” or “to pay customs expenses” on money or gold.

The women, in some instances, were said to have sold their personal property, including houses and cars, to raise money for the “greedy criminals.”

It was also disclosed that email hacking was another component of the sprawling scam, where Ogolor and his cohorts fraudulently obtained checks from businesses with the help of their unsuspecting victims.  

According to prosecutors, as part of the plot, Ogolor opened several bank accounts in his name and in the names of sham businesses. The romance fraud victims wired and deposited their money and money from counterfeit or fraudulently obtained checks into Ogolor’s accounts. 

Soon after receiving the fraudulently obtained funds, Ogolor wired them to his co-conspirators or withdrew the money in cash.

Court documents refer to 13 victims from around the US and Italy who each sent tens of thousands of dollars to Ogolor. In one case, a widow from Indiana who received a friend request on Facebook was led to believe that one of Ogolor’s accomplices was a widower named ‘Lawrence Garrison’ working on an oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.