Two Nigerians, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, have been sentenced to a combined 40 years in prison for their involvement in a romance scam.
A statement from U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, disclosed via the Department of Justice that the conviction followed a four-day trial and less than three hours of jury deliberation.
“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. Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, both Nigerian nationals, worked with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico and subsequently request money from them,” the statement read in part.
During the fraud scheme, the victim was deceived into believing their financial assistance was critical for “Glenn Brown” to complete a fictitious construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.
Between January 2016 and April 2017, the victim transferred approximately $560,000 to accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia. On September 27, 2016, the victim wired about $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account under the name Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola then transferred $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a $14,000 check.
While Daramola denied knowledge of the romance scheme, the FBI investigation revealed extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp messages on his phone, linking him to providing bank accounts for various fraud schemes, including romance scams.
Ogunlaja’s role involved using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds. On March 9 and March 15, 2016, “Glenn Brown” directed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account. Following these deposits, Ogunlaja made multiple cash withdrawals and transferred funds to Daramola’s account.
After the guilty verdict, the court ordered Ogunlaja and Daramola to remain on release under specific conditions pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. At sentencing, both face up to 20 years in prison without parole.