Nigerian Sentenced for Defrauding Seniors Via Romance Scams
Ogheneofejiro Godswill Uzokpa will serve a seven-year prison sentence after victimizing a dozen elderly women in romance schemes. Uzopka pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud.
Targeted Women in Illinois for Exploitation
From around March 2020 to February 2021, Uzokpa and his unindicted co-conspirators, who were all residing in Nigeria, targeted Effingham County in Ill., according to the indictment. Uzokpa contacted people in the United States, generally elderly women, using email and phone communications, as well as other messaging services. Uzokpa often pretended to be an American doctor or someone in a high-paying profession living and working abroad.
According to prosecutors, Uzokpa gained the trust of those he contacted and formed romantic relationships with them. Uzokpa’s targets felt a romantic connection with him, with some accepting a false marriage proposal from him.
Once Uzokpa secured the emotional attachment of his targeted contacts, he would begin fabricating stories about suddenly being locked out of his bank account, according to the indictment. He would then ask his targets to send him money for expenses or processing fees. Uzokpa coerced his targets to send money via check, gift card, electronic money transfer or cashier check and even got them to send funds to his co-conspirators.
Uzokpa’s co-conspirators would then send him a portion of the money to his bank accounts in Nigeria, according to the indictment. The funds were also sent via electronic fund transfers and Bitcoin transactions. Although the money sent was supposed to be a loan, Uzokpa never returned any of the money.
Romance Scams
Romance scams are not uncommon and can target people of all ages and genders. Many romance scams can originate from emails, texts and cold phone calls, but more recently, scams have been perpetuated through connections on dating applications, according to a consumer advice article from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In 2021, people reported a record high of $547 million in losses to romance scams, which the FTC confirmed was over 80% higher than in 2020.
These scams, more or less, work the same way and can be easy to spot if you know what to look for, so here are a few things to remember, according to the FTC advice article:
- Scammers usually say that they are from the host country, but they claim to be working or living outside of the country doing humanitarian work, serving in the military or working on an oil rig.
- Scammers say all the right things to gain your trust, and then they have a sudden crisis that only money will solve, like medical expenses or legal troubles.
- Scammers may even have a “successful” business venture they want to include you in, like cryptocurrency investments, for a small start-up fee.
- Scammers usually direct payment through wire transfers or gift cards because refunds are difficult to get back and they tend to pressure you into acting quickly to give you less time to think.
If you think you have been scammed, call the company you used to send the money and report the scam to the FTC as soon as possible.
In addition to the 7-year prison sentence Uzokpa received, he was also ordered to pay $329,470 in restitution for his crimes, according to his sentencing documents.
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