Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, each face up to 20 years in a US prison after being convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a $560,000 romance scam
In a statement released on Monday and obtained by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, US Attorney Alexander Uballez and FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda revealed that the duo was convicted following a four-day trial and less than three hours of jury deliberation.
According to the Department of Justice, the scheme began in January 2016, when the defendants, in partnership with accomplices, created a fake identity, “Glenn Brown,” on the dating platform eHarmony.com. The fraudulent profile was used to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was led to believe financial assistance was needed for “Glenn Brown” to complete a construction project in Malaysia and return to the US.
The victim sent approximately $560,000 to accounts in the US, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017. On September 27, 2016, $28,000 was wired to a Woodforest Bank account under “Daramola Cars,” from which $18,000 was transferred to a seafood importer in Denmark, and $14,000 was issued as a check.
Daramola denied involvement, but text and WhatsApp messages on his phone revealed his role in supplying bank accounts for fraudulent schemes. Ogunlaja’s involvement was confirmed through his Bank of America account, which was used to receive fraudulent funds. In March 2016, the victim deposited $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account as instructed by the “Glenn Brown” persona. Ogunlaja later withdrew the funds and transferred them to Daramola’s account.
This conviction comes shortly after two other Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, were sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding US citizens of $3.5 million by falsely claiming access to large inheritances.
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