US Jails Two Nigerians for Over $470,000 Scam

The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has sentenced two US-based Nigerians to a combined four years and three months in prison for their involvement in separate fraud schemes totaling $472,000. The convicts, Temitope Bashua and Uchechukwu Gideon Eze, were found guilty of using sophisticated methods, including cyber intrusion, business email compromise, and fraudulent applications, to illegally obtain money from both government programs and private businesses.

In the first case, 29-year-old Temitope Bashua was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to multiple charges including cyber intrusion, romance fraud, and business email compromise schemes. According to court documents, between May 2020 and September 2022, Bashua and co-conspirators submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) benefit applications and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) claims using the personally identifiable information (PII) of unsuspecting victims.

Through these schemes, Bashua received over $290,000, with the fraud spanning several states including Maryland and California. Court filings indicate that Bashua and his accomplices impersonated vict!ms to submit multiple claims, collecting money without the knowledge or consent of those whose identities were stolen. In October 2020, Bashua’s co-conspirators also submitted two fraudulent EIDL applications to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for fictitious businesses, further increasing the total amount defrauded.

In a separate case, Uchechukwu Gideon Eze was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $182,201 in restitution for his role in a business email compromise scheme. Operating from overseas alongside co-conspirators, Eze created email accounts resembling those of legitimate company representatives. He then impersonated these representatives to instruct other businesses to make payments into fr*udulent accounts. The scheme successfully defrauded a small US business of $182,200, according to DoJ statements.

The Department of Justice described both cases as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on international f*aud networks targeting US businesses and government programs. “These convictions demonstrate that regardless of where perpetrators operate from, fraudulent schemes targeting Americans will be thoroughly investigated and prosecuted,” a DoJ spokesperson said.

The sentencing of Bashua and Eze sends a strong warning to individuals involved in cross-border cybercrime, romance scams, and business email compromise: law enforcement agencies will hold them accountable, and they will face substantial prison terms and financial restitution. Both cases underscore the increasing sophistication of fraud networks that exploit personal and business information for financial gain, often spanning multiple countries.

Authorities continue to monitor similar fraud operations and urge members of the public and businesses to remain vigilant against unsolicited emails, fraudulent applications, and schemes promising quick financial gains.