A US district court in Florida has charged Nigerian national Okezie Ogbata with scamming over 400 elderly and vulnerable victims out of more than $6 million.
Last Wednesday, Ogbata was convicted by the Southern District of Florida of running a transnational inheritance fraud scam to defraud elderly Americans.
The 36-year-old Nigerian and his accomplices allegedly told victims a string of falsehoods “to send money for delivery fees, taxes, and other payments to avoid questioning from government authorities,” according to the Department of Justice.
Ogbata and his accomplices sent letters falsely claiming that the sender was a representative of a bank in Spain and that the recipient was entitled to receive a multimillion-dollar inheritance left for the recipient by a family member who had died overseas years before
Ogbata pled guilty, acknowledging that he had defrauded over 400 victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable, out of almost $6 million.
“This case is a testament to the critical role of international collaboration in tackling transnational crime,” stated General Brian Boynton, Head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, in response to the case.
According to The Nigerian Achievers Awards Institute, Ogbata will be punished by US District Judge Roy Altman on April 14, 2025, with a potential penalty of 20 years in prison.
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