U.S. Department of Labor OIG, Two Men Sentenced for International Money Laundering and Bank Fraud Scheme (USAO D-MA 10/31/2023) (2023-11-01)

Summary

A press release from Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, District of Massachusetts, dated October 31, 2023, announcing that Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi, 37, and Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi, 36, both previously of Canton, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 78 months and 72 months, respectively. The release states that in June 2023 each was convicted after an eight-day jury trial of one count of bank fraud, one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy. According to the release, the defendants opened bank accounts in the names of a fake company and fake people using falsified foreign passports to receive proceeds of pandemic unemployment assistance fraud, romance scams and other online scams. Between 2019 and 2021 the accounts received more than $2 million in fraud proceeds.

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                    Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy
                             District of Massachusetts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                          CONTACT: CHRISTINA DiIORIO-STERLING
October 31, 2023                                                   Phone (617) 748-3356
www.justice.gov/usao/ma/news.html                               usama.media@usdoj.gov

                                        twitter.com/dmanews1

   TWO MEN SENTENCED FOR INTERNATIONAL MONEY LAUNDERING AND
                      BANK FRAUD SCHEME

        BOSTON – Two Nigerian men were sentenced today in federal court in Boston for their
roles in an expansive money laundering and bank fraud scheme that resulted in millions in losses
from pandemic fraud, romance scams and other online scams.

       Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi, 37, and Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi, 36, both
previously of Canton, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 78 months
and 72 months, respectively. In June 2023, the defendants were each convicted following an
eight-day jury trial of one count of bank fraud, one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count
of money laundering conspiracy.

        “This case demonstrates that if you prey on the elderly and the vulnerable through on-line
scams, you can rest assured that federal law enforcement will invest the resources to track you
down and hold you accountable. These types of romance fraud schemes cause both huge
financial and emotional harm,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

         “What these men did is disgraceful. They cashed in on a public health crisis, stole
millions from hard-working Americans who were looking for love online, struggling to feed their
families, and keep their businesses afloat, and sent that money to their friends overseas,” said
Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “It
is critical that every dollar spent in pandemic relief goes to those who need it, not to greedy con
artists trying to cheat the system. Anyone who tries to follow in their footsteps will soon find
themselves in federal court to answer for their crimes.”

        “Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi and Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi conspired with others
to launder the proceeds of multiple illegal schemes, including the defrauding of multiple state
workforce agencies by obtaining Pandemic Unemployment Assistance unemployment benefits
using stolen identities. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard
Department of Labor programs designed to help those that struggled during the COVID-19
pandemic,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Jonathan Mellone, U.S. Department of Labor, Office
of Inspector General.
         “These scammers strategically targeted and swindled unsuspecting victims,” said Charge
Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New
England. “Together, with our law enforcement partners, HSI is dedicated to putting a stop to
these criminal acts, which inflict financial ruin on so many. Romance scams are a pervasive
threat, and with our partners, HSI special agents will ensure that the transnational criminal
organizations responsible for such harm are prosecuted.”

       “Today’s sentencing sends a strong message: the Diplomatic Security Service is
committed to making sure that those who commit fraud schemes, and use false documents to
deceive and defraud their victims, face consequences for their criminal actions,” said Matthew
O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service
(DSS) Boston Field Office. “Our strong relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other
law enforcement agencies around the world continues to be essential in the pursuit of justice.”

       The defendants opened multiple bank accounts in the names of a fake company and fake
people using falsified foreign passports. The defendants then used those accounts to receive the
proceeds from various frauds perpetrated by their co-conspirators, including pandemic
unemployment assistance fraud, romance scams and other online scams.

         The majority of the fraud proceeds came from romance scams, which occur when a
criminal adopts a fake online identity to gain a victim’s affection and trust. The scammer then
uses the illusion of a romantic or close relationship to manipulate and steal from the victim. In
total, between 2019 and 2021, the bank accounts involved in the scheme received more than $2
million in fraud proceeds, most of which was transferred to overseas bank accounts controlled by
the defendants and their co-conspirators.

        Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, FBI SAC Cohen, DOL-OIG SAC Mellone, HSI SAC Krol,
and DSS SAC O’Brien made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J.
Markham and Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted
the case.

        On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement
Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies
across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task
Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international
criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud
by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms,
identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing
and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more
information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit
https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

        Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can
report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF)
Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at:
https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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