US authorities have sentenced Victor Ahaiwe to 84 months in prison for his part in a conspiracy to launder the proceeds of business email compromise frauds and romance frauds. In 2021, Ahaiwe was found guilty of bank fraud conspiracy, ML conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft.
During 2018-20, Ahaiwe and co-conspirators conspired to launder the proceeds of many business email compromise and romance fraud schemes, targeting corporate, organizational, and individual victims. The conspirators coerced the victims to transfer over $10 million to bank accounts that they controlled. The victims believed that the funds were being sent to the intended recipients. In reality, the conspirators received the funds illicitly by opening bank accounts in the names of the intended recipients. They moved the illicitly-obtained funds through additional accounts to conceal their nature and origin. Particularly, Ahaiwe stole the identities of several individuals, including a recently deceased friend, to open bank accounts that he then used to launder hundreds of thousands of dollars of the fraudulently-obtained money.
In addition to the prison sentence, Ahaiwe must pay $514,063 in restitution to the victims. He must also forfeit $590,123 in criminal proceeds. Note that nine other defendants have already been sentenced in this case.
Source: US Department of Justice