Canadian Man Convicted of Attempting to Enter the United States Illegally

        BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Victor Osa Ohanmu, 54, of Pickering, Ontario, was convicted of attempting to enter the United States after deportation, subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony, and making a material false statement to Customs and Border Protection officers, following a jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

            According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen A. Lynch and Paul J. Campana, who handled the prosecution of the case, the defendant drove a vehicle to the Lewiston Bridge Port of Entry on March 14, 2013 and presented a Canadian passport under a different identity. When questioned, the defendant told the officers he was driving to Boston, Massachusetts for a funeral.

            Ohanmu falsely told the officers that he had not been in the U.S. before 1992, when, in fact, he had been convicted of an aggravated felony in 1990. The defendant was deported from the U.S. on two previous occasions, January 15, 1992 and February 12, 2003. 

The conviction is the result of an investigation by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Randy Howe, Acting Director of Field Operations.