Georgia Man Sentenced to 5 Years Probation Including 2 Years Home Confinement for Money Laundering During Internet Scams

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced today that EMMANUEL UGBAJA (“UGBAJA”), age 56, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to 5 years probation with two years of home confinement, after previously pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

Court records show that in 2018, two persons were victimized by two separate internet scams – one victim from Kansas sent money to an unknown co-conspirator posing as a love interest in a “romance scam,” and the other victim from California sent money to a person posing as an attorney in an “inheritance scam.” At the direction of the co-conspirators, the victims were told to send the funds to a bank account controlled by UGBAJA. UGBAJA retained a portion of the funds for himself and then sent the victims’ funds, in the total amount of $60,000, to a local maritime broker as part of a down payment for the unrelated purchase of a vessel.

In addition to probation and home confinement, UGBAJA was ordered to pay restitution of over $97,000 to the two fraud victims and over $135,000 to the Small Business Administration for uncharged CARES Act COVID-19 funding fraud, in addition to a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.

This indictment is part of an ongoing national effort by the Department of Justice to address online fraud schemes often based overseas that target U.S. citizens. The public is encouraged to report potential online fraud activity or scams to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://www.ic3.gov/.

The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with this matter. The prosecution of this case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit.