Two Nigerians, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37 bagged a combined 40-year jail term for participating in a $560,000 romance scam.
The US Attorney, Alexander Uballez and Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, Raul Bujanda revealed this in a statement through the Department of Justice, stating that the duo were convicted following a four-day trial and less than three hours of deliberation.
The statement read in part, “According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme, which began in January 2016, involved the creation of a fictitious persona named “Glenn Brown” on the dating website eHarmony.com. Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, both Nigerian nationals, worked with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico and subsequently request money from them.”
Throughout the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for “Glenn Brown” to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.
The victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.
On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check for $14,000.
Daramola denied any knowledge of the romance scheme, however, the FBI said its investigation uncovered extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp correspondence on Daramola’s phone, revealing his role as a provider of bank accounts for various fraud schemes including romance fraud schemes.
Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds.
It was reported on March 9 and March 15, 2016, that the FBI said “Glenn Brown” instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 cash into Ogunlaja’s account.
Following these deposits, Ogunlaja made multiple cash withdrawals and transfers to Daramola’s account and after the verdict, the court ordered that Ogunlaja and Daramola remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
If sentenced, Ogunlaja and Daramola each face up to 20 years in prison without parole.
