A 37-year-old Nigerian man, Chukwunonso Obiora, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in the United States for his involvement in multiple criminal activities, including laundering fraud proceeds and obtaining a U.S. passport through false statements.
The sentence, delivered by United States District Judge Indira Talwani, also includes three years of supervised release and restitution and forfeiture amounting to $3,326,014.14.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentencing on January 5, 2025, through a joint statement by U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New England.
Criminal Activities and Conviction
Obiora pleaded guilty in June 2024 to charges of passport fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. He was arrested in October 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, and held in custody pending trial. A formal indictment followed in January 2024.
According to court records, Obiora and his co-conspirators operated between March 2021 and May 2023, targeting companies through business email compromise (BEC) schemes. These scams involve impersonating trusted parties via email to redirect company payments to fraudulent accounts.
Obiora admitted to orchestrating the money laundering conspiracy, which included:
Obtaining victims’ personal identification to create fake driver’s licenses and establish fraudulent businesses and bank accounts.
Directing victim companies to wire funds to these accounts.
Withdrawing funds before victims discovered the fraud and redistributing proceeds to co-conspirators in Nigeria, China, and elsewhere.
The group also concealed their activities by forging business invoices, falsifying bank memos, and making misleading statements to financial institutions. Over two years, the conspiracy handled over $6.5 million in fraudulent transactions, with Obiora and his associates taking at least 40% of the proceeds.
Illegal Reentry to the United States
After being deported in December 2021, Obiora conspired with a relative, a U.S. citizen, to fraudulently obtain a U.S. passport. The relative falsely reported their passport as lost and applied for a replacement in May 2023, submitting a sworn application with Obiora’s photograph. Obiora later used the forged passport in October 2023 to travel from Nigeria to Detroit, Michigan, where he posed as his relative.
Investigation and Prosecution
The case received substantial support from the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and its Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth B. Kosto, Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit, prosecuted the case.
