By Miriam Humbe
The FBI arrested Samuel Ugberaese after he was extradited from Nigeria to the United States on charges relating to cross-border romance scams that targeted victims in the United States and elsewhere.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment in the Eastern District of North Carolina on January 22, 2021. U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian S. Myers the Eastern District of North Carolina ordered Ugberaese detained pending trial.
According to the indictment, Ugberaese and his co-conspirators used romance scheme techniques, including false stories and promises, to exploit and defraud victims into transferring money on their behalf.
The indictment further alleges that Ugberaese conspired with a co-defendant Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalized U.S. citizen, to conduct financial transactions through his bank account network, including accounts registered to purported export companies, to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the criminal proceeds.
Ugberaese is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, FBI’s Law Enforcement Attaché Office in Abuja, the Department of State, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General’s Office of Nigeria, the Nigeria Police Force – INTERPOL, and the South African Police Service provided critical assistance securing the arrest and extradition of Ugberaese.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam F. Hulbig of the Eastern District of North Carolina’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
