Ugochukwu Enwerem: Nigerian jailed nine years in US for Wire fraud

Ugochukwu Enwerem, aka Joseph Smith

A United States District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina has sentenced a Nigerian, Ugochukwu Enwerem, aka Joseph Smith, to nine years imprisonment on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and 14 counts of wire fraud.

The US Justice Department said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday said District Judge Graham Mullen also ordered Enwerem to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. In addition, Enwerem was ordered to forfeit $9,453,815 (N1,447,804,538.57) and to pay restitution in the same amount, jointly and severally with fellow Nigerian and co-defendant, Kent Okojie.

Enwerem was found guilty in March 2010 by a federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina on the 15 counts, the statement said. In September 2009, his co-accused pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to 72 months in prison in November.

Okojie and Enwerem, who resided in the Netherlands, were originally charged in a June 2007 complaint.

They were subsequently extradited to the US from The Netherlands, where they had been in custody on Dutch charges.

The statement also contained excerpts from court documents.

It said, Evidence at trial showed that between at least August 25, 2004 and April 23, 2007, Enwerem and his co-conspirators solicited individuals in the United States, Europe and Australia by sending spam e-mails informing potential victims that they had either won a foreign lottery, inherited a large sum of money from a long lost relative, or were eligible to recover outstanding construction contract payments.

When individuals responded to the e-mails, the defendants, posing as lawyers, bankers and European government officials, solicited fees from victims ostensibly to pay for things such as ˜anti-terrorism certificates. EU bank clearances˜anti-money laundering certificates, and legal fees in order to secure their purported lotto winnings, inheritance or contract payments.

The US Justice Department stated that Enwerem and Okojie instructed American victims to wire funds, using Western Union and other money transfer services, to them and their designees in The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

According to trial testimony, at least 18 US and international victims were defrauded of more than $9.5m during the period when Enwerem was a member of the conspiracy.

Advance-Fee Fraud! Nigerian May Spend 20 years in US Jail

 

A  federal jury in the Western District of North Carolina on Wednesday, February 23th, 2011, convicted Nigerian born Ugochukwu Enwerem over his involvement in an advance-fee fraud a.k.a 419.

According to court documents obtained by huhuonline.com, after six days of trial and four hours of deliberation, Mr. Ugochukwu Enwerem was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and 14 counts of wire fraud charged in a July 2007 indictment stemming from an "advance-fee" scheme. He was also ordered to forfeit more than $9.5 million.  

 Our checks reveal that his co –defendant, Mr. Oserumen Kent Okojie, who was arrested in August 2008, is awaiting sentencing, having pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud in September 2009. 

 Finding reveals that Oserumen Okojie and Ugochukwu Enwerem, both Nigerian citizens resided in the Netherlands originally, where they were charged in a June 2007 complaint and were subsequently extradited to the United States from The Netherlands. 

 According to court documents obtained by huhuonline.com, between at least September 2002 and April 2007, Okojie, Enwerem and their co-conspirators solicited individuals by sending spam e-mails informing potential victims that they had either won a foreign lottery or inherited a large sum of money from a long lost relative. When individuals responded to the e-mails, the defendants or their co-conspirators, posing as lawyers, bankers and European government officials, solicited fees from victims ostensibly to pay for things such as "anti-terrorism certificates," "EU bank clearances" and legal fees in order to secure their lottery winnings or inheritance.  

 Trial evidence established that Okojie and Enwerem instructed U.S. and international victims to wire funds through Western Union and other money transfer services to the defendants and their designees in The Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. The Western Union servers are located in the Western District of North Carolina. According to trial testimony, at least 18 U.S. and international victims lost more than $9.5 million as a result of this scheme. 

 At sentencing, Enwerem faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy count and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the 14 wire fraud counts.