MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced Tuesday that four Nigerian citizens have been sentenced to federal prison for a series of romance and investment scams across the U.S.
Reagan Fondren said a federal grand jury in West Tennessee indicted the four on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering in June 2023.
- Efe Egbowawa, 41, a Nigerian citizen living in the Atlanta area, was sentenced in April 2024 to five years in federal prison.
- Kay Ozegbe, 44, a naturalized U.S. citizen living in Atlanta, was sentenced in September 2024 to three years in federal prison.
- Patrick Edah, 40, a Nigerian citizen living in the Toronto, Canada area, was sentenced in October 2024 to two-and-a-half years in federal prison.
- Igocha Mac-Okor, 40, a Nigerian citizen living in the Atlanta area, was sentenced in October 2024 to just over four years in federal prison.
Prosecutors said from 2017 to November 2021, the scammers would use fake identities on social media, gaming apps, dating websites, and other online platforms to meet the victims. Investigators said the scammers would then build relationships, sometimes romantic, with the victims, then claim an emergency and convince the victims to send money via wire, check, U.S. mail, and package delivery services.
If the victim sent the money, investigators said the suspects would then ask for increasingly larger amounts. Prosecutors said one victim in West Tennessee lost more than $400,000 over several months.
The four who were convicted acted as “money mules,” according to prosecutors, moving the financial proceeds through bank accounts and shell companies.
“These individuals used deception and fraud to prey on the vulnerable causing unmeasurable emotional damage and significant financial losses,” said Special Agent in Charge Joe Carrico of the FBI - Nashville Field Office, Memphis Resident Agency. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to target these predators and bring them to justice.”
