By John Ogunsemore
A 37-year-old Nigerian man, Oluwasegun Baiyewu, has been convicted by a federal jury in Puerto Rico for conspiracy to launder funds in connection with multiple wide-ranging wire, mail, and access device fraud schemes.
In a Tuesday statement, the Office of Public Affairs of the US Department of Justice disclosed that Baiyewu was convicted of a money laundering conspiracy following a 22-day trial in San Juan.
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The Richmond, Texas resident is the fifth Nigerian convicted in connection with the schemes.
Others include Oluwaseun Adelekan, 40, and Temitope Omotayo, 40, both of Staten Island, New York; Ifeoluwa Dudubo, 37, of Austin, Texas; and Temitope Suleiman, 37.
According to court documents, the five defendants conspired to launder funds from different international organised fraud schemes, including romance, pandemic relief unemployment insurance fraud, and business email compromise scams, which disproportionately impacted elderly or otherwise vulnerable Americans.
A superseding indictment against the five defendants alleged that in 2020 and 2021, they worked together to profit from efforts to “clean” money from scams involving victims, many of whom were older adults, in California, Illinois, Washington, and Nevada, and business email compromise schemes affecting victim companies in Puerto Rico and Missouri.
After receiving the proceeds, according to the indictment, the defendants or their co-conspirators conducted hundreds of transactions with the funds to, among other things, purchase used cars that were shipped overseas to Nigeria.
“The defendants will be sentenced before the Honorable Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach for the District of Puerto Rico,” the Office of Public Affairs stated.
US Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow for the District of Puerto Rico said, “The defendant participated in a money laundering scheme turning illicit gains into a facade of legitimacy, especially those involving seniors or other vulnerable people, and businesses in Puerto Rico and the United States.
“The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners commitment to investigate criminals who steal money sends a clear message: justice will prevail, and those who exploit others for personal gain will be held accountable.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the US Justice Department’s Civil Division said, “The Department of Justice will continue to identify and prosecute the fraudsters who design complex fraud schemes and the launderers that receive victim proceeds and make sure the crimes are profitable.
“This conviction is a message to the transnational organised crime groups and their accomplices who take advantage of our open financial system: you cannot victimise Americans with impunity.”
The post Another Nigerian convicted in US court for shipping used cars to Nigeria using fraud money appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
