Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, face up to 20 years in a United States prison after being convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a $560,000 international romance scam.
The Department of Justice announced the conviction in a statement released on Monday, 6th January 2025.
“Following a four-day trial and less than three hours of deliberation, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict against two Nigerian nationals who participated in an international romance scheme,” the statement read.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme, which began in January 2016, involved the creation of a fictitious persona named “Glenn Brown” on the dating website eHarmony.com. Ogunlaja and Daramola, both Nigerian nationals, collaborated with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before subsequently requesting money from them.
Throughout the course of the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for “Glenn Brown” to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.
The victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017. On 27th September 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a cheque for $14,000.
Daramola denied any knowledge of the romance scheme; however, the FBI’s investigation uncovered extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp correspondence on his phone, revealing his role as a provider of bank accounts for various fraud schemes, including romance fraud.
Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds. Specifically, on 9th and 15th March 2016, “Glenn Brown” instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account. Following these deposits, Ogunlaja made multiple cash withdrawals and transfers to Daramola’s account.
Following the verdict, the Court ordered that Ogunlaja and Daramola remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled.
At sentencing, Ogunlaja and Daramola each face up to 20 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M. M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement on Tuesday, 7th January.
The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting it.
