A Nigerian man, Olu Victor Alonge, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a wire fraud scheme that targeted users of American dating websites, swindling them out of $1,835,279.
Six other Nigerians were charged as part of the conspiracy; three pleaded guilty, but 35-year-old Alonge is the first to be sentenced.
Two other defendants are said to be on the run.
The defendants face 60 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and false passport use.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta, in a statement on Tuesday, said that Alonge was also ordered to pay $1.8m in restitution.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Alonge and six other conspirators created phoney dating profiles on popular online dating websites that described fictitious personas.
“These profiles displayed photographs of men and women that, in some instances, were public figures, such as government officials or models, taken from publically available websites. The conspirators then used their fake online personas to target users of online dating websites and falsely pose as potential paramours by expressing strong romantic interest in the targeted users. These conspirators often targeted vulnerable individuals who possessed financial assets and in some cases spent months cultivating romantic relationships with them through online messaging, text messaging, and voice calls,” the Office said.
“After gaining their affection and trust, the conspirators, posing as the fake paramours, provided the targeted users with elaborate false stories to cause the users to send them money through interstate wire or online transfers to bank accounts controlled by the conspirators. The fake paramours often claimed to be working overseas and in need of money to travel back to the United States or to complete business deals abroad. Once the conspirators received money from targeted users, the conspirators quickly withdrew the funds and dispersed them into other accounts, domestically and abroad.
“The conspirators caused a total loss of $1,835,279.00 to the eight identified victims. One victim lost $610,319.00. Four other victims lost $418,697.00, $388,900.00, $260,000.00, and $148,800 respectively.”
The defendants charged are
Olu Victor Alonge, a/k/a Serge Damessi, a/k/a Didier Baraze, a/k/a Mobo Marcus Adeh, a/k/a Ayo Baraze, a/k/a Nicolas Soglo, 35, of Newnan, Georgia, who was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr., on October 30, 2019, to 10 years of imprisonment and ordered to pay $1,835,279.00 in victim restitution.
Ugochukwu Lazarus Onebunne, a/k/a Policap Tizhe, a/k/a Saheed Ademoha, 41, of Douglasville, Georgia;
Olajide Olalekan Adara, a/k/a Kelvin Mensah, 33, of Loganville, Georgia;
Joshua Adedeji Ipoade, 28, of Atlanta, Georgia;
Oladunni Temitope Oladipupo, 24, of Lynn, Massachusetts; and
Two other defendants are fugitives and their identities remain sealed.
Onebunne and Adara have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Ipoade and Oladipupo are awaiting trial dates pending the completion of pretrial litigation. Alonge, Onebunne, and Adara will face immigration removal proceedings after the completion of their criminal cases, as will Ipoade, if convicted.
