NIGERIAN SENTENCED TO PRISON OVER $6 MILLION WIRE FRAUD IN U.S

Uzoma Okechukwu Osuagwu, 36, a Nigerian, has been sentenced to 175 months in federal prison for conspiracy to launder funds, procuring U.S. citizenship by fraud and identity theft, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle has announced.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner also revoked Osuagwu’s United States citizenship on the grounds that it was obtained by fraud and ordered that he serve three years under the supervision of the United States Probation Office after he is released from prison, if not deported. It is expected that he will be deported to Nigeria following his release from prison. 

Osuagwu pleaded guilty Feb. 1, 2007, to one count of conspiracy to launder funds, one count of procuring naturalized United States citizenship by fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Court documents demonstrated Osuagwu obtained stolen confidential bank account and identity information of numerous individuals which was used to transfer funds from the compromised accounts to bank accounts controlled by one of Osuagwu’s co-conspirators.

After the funds reached the controlled account, they were withdrawn by check writing, automated teller withdrawals, money order purchases and other financial transactions. Since the account and identity information could be used to transfer funds without the consent of the account holders, the information had value and was traded among the conspirators. Often one conspirator would purchase the information from Osuagwu and recruit others to open accounts and receive funds from the compromised accounts in exchange for a portion of the profits.

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Evidence showed that more than $6 million dollars was removed from the compromised accounts and wired to the accounts controlled by Osuagwu’s co-conspirators. Osuagwu was convicted of conspiracy to launder funds and aggravated identity theft in relation to this scheme. He was sentenced to 151 months in federal prison for the money laundering offense and 24 months for aggravated identity theft. Those sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.

Osuagwu, using the name Nnanna Okereke, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and five years supervised release for the felony offense of mail fraud in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Oct. 20, 1997. Subsequently, the defendant, using the name Uzoma Okechukwu Osuagwu, became a naturalized United States citizen, July 30, 2002, in Houston. At that time, the defendant falsely represented in an application for naturalization filed with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service that he had not knowingly committed any crime, nor had he been arrested, cited, charged, convicted, fined or imprisoned for breaking any law in the United States, which would make the defendant ineligible to be admitted to citizenship because he was unable to establish good moral character. For this conduct, Osuagwu was convicted of the federal felony offense of procurement of naturalization by fraud and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. That sentence is to run concurrently with his sentences for money laundering and identity theft.

This case was investigated by Inspectors of the United States Postal Inspection Service and special agents of the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay Hileman.