INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been found guilty of working with Nigeria-based co-conspirators in a scheme that defrauded victims across the globe out of more than $5.6 million.
Tochukuw Nwosisi, 52, was sentenced on Thursday to three years in federal prison. A federal jury in Houston convicted Nwosisi on March 4 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conceal money laundering.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Nwosisi and his Nigerian co-conspirators ran a scheme that involved tricking victims into sending large wire payments as an “advance fee.” Victims were deceived into believing these “advance fees” were necessary before a bank would release inheritance funds back to the victim — which never materialized.
According to the DOJ, Nwosisi served as a money launderer who accepted the victims’ funds into his U.S.-based bank account before funneling the money along to his Nigerian backers.
An investigation headed by the FBI and the Department of State Office of Inspector General led to Nwosisi’s arrest.
