Press Release
Washington State Man Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud Conspiracy
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Oyeniyi Oworu, age 45, of Washington, yesterday to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Judge Rubin also ordered Oworu to pay restitution of $296,779.84
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.
According to his guilty plea, between February 2017 and July 2020, Oworu conspired with co-defendant Babatunde Ajibawo, Sadiq Folawiyo, Oyekanmi Oworu, and others to fraudulently obtain checks made out to legitimate businesses, then fraudulently register shell companies to obtain state business certificates in the identical or similar name of the legitimate businesses to which the checks were made payable.
As detailed in his plea agreement, Oworu and his co-conspirators attempted to conceal their criminal actions and evade law enforcement by relocating the fraud scheme to other jurisdictions, including the states of Washington and Georgia. A substantial part of a fraudulent scheme was committed from outside the United States, specifically Nigeria. In total, Oworu and his co-conspirators intended to cause a loss of at least $4.1 million to victim businesses and caused an actual loss of at least $756,175.30. To perpetrate the scheme to defraud, Oworu and his co-conspirators used the stolen PII of more than 50 individual victims and established approximately 50 fraudulent or shell businesses.
Co-defendants Babatunde Ajibawo, age 55, of Essex, United Kingdom; Oyekanmi Oworu, age 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland; and Sadiq Folawiyo, age 47, of Glen Burnie, Maryland all previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the bank fraud conspiracy. Ajibawo was sentenced to four years in federal prison and Oyekanmi Oworu and Folawiyo were each sentenced to three years in federal prison.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Budlow, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on fraud and how to report instances of fraud, including identity theft, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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Contact
Marcia Lubin
(410) 209-4854
Updated June 22, 2023
Topic
Financial Fraud
Component