Oluseun Martins Omole, a resident of Texas, pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy that helped move over $12 million in consumer electronics to Nigeria on Wednesday.

Omole pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker in a court in the Southern District of New York.

Court documents stated that Omole collaborated with entities in Nigeria to fraudulently obtain consumer electronics worth several millions of dollars from thousands of victims in the United States. Omole and his co-conspirators moved all the fraudulently obtained assets to Nigeria between 2018 and 2023.

“Over the course of approximately five years, Oluseun Martins Omole received more than $12 million worth of fraudulently obtained consumer electronics and other items. Thousands of victims believed that they were sending these electronics and items to romantic lovers, legitimate buyers, and reputable employers. Instead, they went straight to Omole, who repackaged those electronics and goods and shipped them in bulk to co-conspirators located overseas in exchange for the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of US dollars,” US Attorney Damian Williams explained.

Omole is a 57-year-old man with some ties with Nigerians living in Nigeria.

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A US Department of Justice statement summarises the indictment and complaint, the plea agreement and other public filings made in court against Omole:

“From at least in or about February 2018 through at least in or about March 2023, Omole participated in a criminal enterprise based in Nigeria (the “Enterprise”), which orchestrated various scams to defraud thousands of victims in the United States and elsewhere of more than $12 million in consumer electronics, including smartphones, smartwatches, laptops, and tablets, among other items.

“The scams perpetrated by the members of the Enterprise included (i) romance scams, in which Enterprise members sent electronic communications to victims feigning romantic intentions, gained their trust and affection, and took advantage of that goodwill to induce victims into sending consumer electronics and other money or property to Omole; (ii) online marketplace scams, in which Enterprise members sent electronic communications to victims feigning interest in buying consumer electronics, falsely represented to the victim that the items had been paid for, and instructed the victim to send the consumer electronics to Omole; and (iii) employment scams, in which Enterprise members posted phony jobs online and informed unwitting victims that they were hired before instructing victims to send electronics to Omole under the guise that those electronics were needed for the job (together, the “Fraudulent Electronics Scams”).

“During the relevant time period, Omole owned and operated a business corporation named Tobylink Impessions, Inc., a/k/a Tobylink Impressions, Inc. (“Tobylink”), which claimed to be a distributor, re-seller, and supplier of satellite communications equipment. In reality, however, Tobylink served as a vehicle through which Omole received thousands of fraudulently obtained goods from victims of the Enterprise before repackaging and shipping those items to various co-conspirators located in Nigeria.

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“During his participation in the conspiracy, Omole received and sent more than $12 million in consumer electronics and other items to other members of the Enterprise, in exchange for the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of US dollars in fees that Omole charged other Enterprise members.”

Omole faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He has agreed to pay restitution in an amount to be ordered by the court and to forfeit an amount of US currency to be ordered by the court in his plea bargain. US law enforcement also seized some remaining consumer electronics and other goods from Omole.

US District Judge Jesse M. Furman will pass Omole’s sentence on July 30, 2024.