Indy car dealer sentenced to 3 years in prison for $5.6 million international fraud scheme

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

5 2 minutes read

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An Indianapolis car dealer was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for his role in an international advance fee scheme orchestrated from Nigeria that defrauded victims around the world of more than $5.6 million. announced the US Department of Justice.

A federal jury in Houston convicted Tochukwu Nwosisi, 52, on March 4 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and concealment of money laundering.

FBI and Department of Justice investigators say Nwosisi participated, at least from February 2015 to January 2018, in an advance fee scheme involving fraudulent offers of investment and inheritance financing to victims. of the whole world. Nwosisi's Nigeria-based co-conspirators tricked victims into making large wire transfers to bank accounts in the United States, falsely believing that payment of advance fees was necessary before the bank would release their funding or legacy.

Nwosisi, owner of used car dealership Indy Rides LLC, 4510 W. Washington St., served as a money launderer who accepted victims' funds into his bank accounts and directed the proceeds to the ringleaders in Nigeria.

When he was arrested in 2018, investigators said Nwosisi helped defraud investors from more than 20 countries and laundered the proceeds of the scheme through his dealership.

Five other people from outside Indiana were charged in the case in February 2018. Investigators say some of them falsely represented themselves as agents of the New York-based company. JPMorgan Chase and North Carolina-based Branch Banking & Trust Corp. to enter into fraudulent investment deals.

Uju Okigbo, 48, and Chioma Okafor, 28, both of Houston, were each charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, wire fraud and money laundering money. Okigbo was also charged with transacting with proceeds of specified illegal activities and aggravated identity theft.

Marita Ranalan Underwood, 61, from the Philippines; John Christian Rutledge, 64, of Yaphank, New York; and Osa May Martin, 68, of Carthage, Missouri, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to unlawfully use government seals. Rutledge was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison and 2 years of supervised release after pleading guilty.

Investigators say the perpetrators, primarily in Nigeria, posed as U.S. bank officials over the phone and online to victims. Some met with victims at local U.S. embassies or consulates and fabricated documents to make victims believe that the U.S. government sponsored the investment deals.