The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has announced that Omoyoma Christopher Okoro, 50, was sentenced on September 19, 2024, to 100 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $22,565,929.18 in restitution.
Okoro, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Nigeria, was found guilty of multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and bank fraud, after a five-day jury trial in September 2023.
Between 2006 and 2010, Okoro conspired with others in what is known as the “attorney collection scheme,” targeting U.S. attorneys.
The scheme involved contacting attorneys under the guise of needing legal representation, claiming they were owed money from U.S. entities.
Attorneys would receive counterfeit checks supposedly issued by U.S. banks, deposit them into their escrow accounts, and then wire the majority of the funds to foreign accounts, usually in East Asia, before realizing the checks were fraudulent.
Evidence presented during the trial revealed Okoro’s extensive communication with other members of the conspiracy and his involvement in orchestrating the fraud, which led to the theft of over $23 million, with attempts exceeding $80 million.
Okoro joins a list of individuals prosecuted for similar schemes, including Emmanuel Ekhator, Yvette Mathurin, and Kingsley Osagie, all linked to fraudulent activities targeting U.S. lawyers.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ravi Romel Sharma, David C. Williams, and Shaunik R. Panse from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) announced on Saturday that it will implement rigorous security vetting for all licensed verification agents, front-end partners, and diaspora partners to enhance the protection of citizens’ data and prevent identity fraud.
Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, NIMC Director-General, emphasized that the vetting process is crucial for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, mitigating insider threats, and preventing unauthorized access to the National Identity Database.
The commission’s statement indicated that any partners found breaching the new security protocols would face strict sanctions as per the established regulations and national laws.
