Chicago man sentenced in online ‘romance,’ ‘mystery shopper’ scams
CHICAGO - A Chicago man who bilked millions of dollars from Internet users in an international online scamming operation has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Olaniyi Nasiru Ojikutu, 39, was sentenced to 88 months in prison Wednesday after he was charged in 2019 with wire fraud in a federal sting known as "Operation Gold Phish", the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois said.
After he was charged, Ojikutu fled Chicago by bus, but was arrested seven months later in Canada. Canadian authorities turned him over to the United States in January 2020 and he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud last July.
The multi-year fraud scheme, which included "romance" and "mystery shopper" scams, netted Ojikutu and nine other defendants millions of dollars since 2016, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors said some victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the scheme.
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Over the course of about three years, Ojikutu opened approximately 25 bank accounts in his own name, a fake name, and a shell company name, prosecutors said. He transferred about $3.4 million in fraudulently obtained money through the accounts, then used the funds to purchase vehicles in the U.S. and ship them to Nigeria for resale.
Ojikutu, a legal permanent resident of the U.S. who was born in Nigeria and living in Chicago at the time of the crimes, was one of 10 people indicted as the result of "Operation Gold Phish," a Chicago-based investigation which identified a variety of cyber-enabled scams primarily targeting elderly victims.
Seven others from the Chicago area who were charged in 2018 are: Daniel Samuel Eta, 35, of Skokie; Babatunde Ladehinde Labiyi, 20, of Chicago; Barnabas Oghenerukevwe Edjieh, 29, of Chicago; Sultan Omogbadebo Anifowoshe, 26, of Chicago; Babatunde Ibraheem Akarigidi, 39, of Chicago; Miracle Ayokunle Okunola, 21, of Chicago; Olurotimi Akitunde Idowu, 55, of Chicago. Two more people were arrested in Texas and Nigeria, and all are in custody.
Eta, the alleged leader, also known as "Captain" and "Etaoko," has pleaded not guilty and his case is still pending.
The group allegedly scammed victims out of their money by building fake romantic or professional relationships with them over online communities such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Match.com, according to a federal indictment filed by the attorney’s office. After building a connection with the victim, they would request a deposit into bank accounts opened under fake names.
In the mystery shopper scams, the defendants allegedly sent victims fake money orders or checks and instructed them to deposit them into their personal bank accounts, withdraw money and send the money through services such as Western Union or Money Gram to "evaluate" them, the indictment said. After the checks turned out fake, the bank or the victim would absorb the loss.
The schemes also included "business email compromise" and "employment fraud" scams, the indictment said. The business email scams defrauded businesses that regularly perform wire transfers, while the employment fraud scams presented victims with fake business opportunities.
The other defendants in U.S. custody pleaded not guilty, the attorney’s office said.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.