US Justice Department Announces Conviction of Nigerian Nationals in $560,000 Romance Scam
Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja and Abel Adeyi Daramola, face up to 20 years in a U.S. prison after being convicted by a federal jury for their involvement in a $560,000 romance scam.
In a statement released on Monday evening, U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced the convictions through the Department of Justice.
The pair were found guilty following a four-day trial and less than three hours of jury deliberation.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ogunlaja and Daramola, along with other accomplices, began their scheme in January 2016. They created a fraudulent identity, “Glenn Brown,” on the dating website eHarmony.com.
This fake profile was used to develop a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico, resulting in the victim sending thousands of dollars to the defendants.
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The statement reported, “Throughout the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for ‘Glenn Brown’ to complete a supposed construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.”
Between January 2016 and April 2017, the victim transferred approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the U.S., Canada, and Malaysia.
On September 27, 2016, the victim wired about $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account under the name Daramola Cars, as directed by the fraudulent persona of “Glenn Brown.” Daramola then wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check for $14,000.
Although Daramola denied his involvement in the romance scheme, evidence from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office revealed text messages and WhatsApp communications on his phone that implicated him in supplying bank accounts for multiple fraud schemes.
Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds.
It was noted that “Glenn Brown” specifically instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account on March 9 and March 15, 2016.
After receiving the deposits, Ogunlaja made several cash withdrawals and transferred the money to Daramola’s account.
