Published 13th Jun, 2022

By Tola Owoyele

Edafe Onoetiyi, a Nigerian living in Dallas, Texas, United States of America, has pleaded guilty to defrauding American citizens of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to a statement on the website of the US Department of Justice, the Nigerian pleaded guilty in a US district court on Tuesday.

Onoetiyi, 34, and Susan Johns, a 54-year-old American, conspired with each other and other individuals to defraud their victims through various means.

They transferred bank account information, personally identifiable information, and other access devices to create and transfer fraudulent loans and perpetrate other forms of theft.

These actions resulted in the fraudulent transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars from the victims’ accounts within the United States to locations abroad, including Canada and Nigeria.

It was also revealed that Onoetiyi and other defendants lured their victims into sending money or allowing the syndicate to use their bank account to move proceeds of fraud through false romance.

“The United States Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Mississippi will prosecute those who prey upon American citizens by fraud and deceit,” said Darren J. LaMarca, a US attorney.

“The efforts of Homeland Security Investigations led to this prosecution and we are grateful.”

David Denton, the Homeland Security special agent in charge of the case, said perpetrators of fraud and romance schemes are using technology to their advantage to target new audiences and cause devastating financial impacts on unsuspecting victims.

“HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners are committed to investigating fraud and protecting our citizens from the damage that can occur when our personal information falls into the wrong hands,” Denton said.

Onoetiyi and Johns will be sentenced on September 6, in Natchez, Mississippi. They each face a maximum penalty of five years in a federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

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