Two Nigerian-born men have been handed lengthy jail terms in the United States for their roles in a multi-million-dollar fraud ring that wiped out the life savings of elderly victims across several states.
A federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, November 18, sentenced 40-year-old Olumide Olorunfunmi and 43-year-old Emmanuel Unuigbe to 30 months in prison each. The sentences will be followed by three years of supervised release.
The court also directed both men to jointly refund more than $4.6 million, the amount investigators say was stolen from over a hundred elderly Americans who fell prey to the criminal network.
U.S. prosecutors explained that the syndicate operated between 2020 and 2023, using romance scams and business email compromise schemes to deceive victims—many of them seniors seeking companionship or trying to protect their small businesses. The criminals then emptied the victims’ bank accounts and moved the stolen funds through multiple layers of transfers to hide the source of the money.
More than 125 victims were identified during the investigation, with their funds traced to accounts controlled or influenced by the two men.
According to authorities, portions of the money were later converted to Nigerian naira through black-market currency dealers, allowing the defendants to profit from exchange rate differentials.
Both Olorunfunmi and Unuigbe pleaded guilty earlier this year.
A third individual linked to the scheme, Samson Amos, received a five-year probation term, which includes six months of home confinement. He was also ordered to pay restitution.
