A Nigerian man, Samuel Ugberaese, has been extradited to the United States over alleged involvement in a romance scam and money laundering case targeting elderly victims.
The United States Department of Justice said in a press statement on Tuesday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Ugberaese after he was brought from Nigeria to the United States. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina filed charges against him on January 22, 2021.
According to the indictment, Ugberaese and others allegedly used false stories and promises to deceive victims and convince them to send money. Authorities also alleged that he worked with a co-defendant, Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalized US citizen, to move money through different bank accounts, including accounts linked to export companies, to hide the source of the criminal proceeds.
Ugberaese is facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The statement noted that the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Abuja, the United States Department of State, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force INTERPOL, and the South African Police Service helped in securing his arrest and transfer.
United States Magistrate Judge Brian S. Myers ordered that Ugberaese should remain in custody pending trial. US authorities stated that the charges are still allegations and that the defendant remains innocent until proven guilty in court.
