The scheme operated for years in West Michigan and throughout the United States
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN — U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Fatai Okunola, 37, of Kalamazoo, Michigan; Oluwaseyi Adeola, 33, and Ijeoma Adeola, 35, of Dallas, Texas; and Cory McDougal, 32, of Romeoville, Illinois, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Oluwaseyi Adeola and Okunola also face charges related to their naturalization or attempt to naturalize as United States’ citizens.
“These fraud schemes can financially devastate victims, especially the elderly and other vulnerable people,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Some of the victims in this case lost their retirement savings, took loans against their homes, or suffered other financial distress because of the defendants’ alleged lies. My office will vigorously investigate these cases to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
If convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, defendants face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Okunola also faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted of making a false statement on his application for naturalization as a United States citizen, and Oluwaseyi Adeola faces up to an additional 10 years in prison if convicted of obtaining his naturalization as a United States citizen through false or fraudulent representations.
According to allegations in the indictment, the defendants conspired with individuals primarily in Nigeria to defraud individuals in the United States, many that were elderly or particularly vulnerable, through a variety of fraud schemes using interstate wire transmissions or the mail system. The conspirators in Nigeria created false online personas to develop relationships with their victims over the internet, through social media, by text messages or by telephone. These relationships centered around romantic interests, offers to buy or sell goods or services, apartment rentals, or offers to make loans or provide grant funding, among other schemes. The conspirators sent pictures or provided other information to the victims to make their schemes appear genuine. When the conspirators used telephone calls, they utilized voice-over-internet-protocol numbers to make it appear as if the calls were originating within the United States near the victims. After developing the relationships, the conspirators asked for money for a variety of reasons related to the scheme.
Once the victim agreed, the conspirators directed the victims to send the money to the defendants, who opened numerous bank accounts in the Western District of Michigan and other places to receive the victims’ money. On some occasions, the defendants received the victims’ money in post office boxes maintained under alias names or through payments made payable to “shell” businesses that the defendants created to receive fraud proceeds. The victims sent the money to the defendants through the mail, bank-to-bank transfers, or through peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle or PayPal. After the defendants received the money in their accounts, they transferred the money to each other, to the conspirators overseas, and to their own accounts in Nigeria. According to the indictment, defendants received more than $2 million dollars in their accounts from the scheme between 2017 and 2022.
“Postal Inspectors are committed to protecting Americans from scams that prey on the elderly and vulnerable," said Inspector in Charge Rodney M. Hopkins of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's Detroit Division. “These individuals manipulated victims into giving away their hard-earned money, and in some instances, their life savings, which caused devastating financial impacts to the victims. Today's indictment is a testament to the dedication of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our law enforcement partners in protecting our citizens and working to seek prosecution of the scammers who seek to exploit them.”
“Our Homeland Security Investigations special agents are committed to protecting the citizens of Michigan from this type of fraud,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. “Cooperation between our law enforcement agencies is essential to conducting these investigations. I’d like to commend the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety for their work in dismantling this operation.”
The Homeland Security Investigations, and United States Postal Inspection Service, Grand Rapids offices, are investigating this case. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety also provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Stella is prosecuting the case.
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.
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U.S. Department
of Justice
