45-year-old Nigerian man faces 30 years in US prison over alleged $300,000 romance scam

• Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, a Nigerian living in Texas, has been indicted in the US over an alleged $300,000 fraud.

• Prosecutors say the scheme involved romance scams, business email compromise and fake government invoices.

• Victims were allegedly manipulated into acting as money mules to receive and cash fraudulent cheques.

• If convicted, Udugba faces up to 30 years in prison, although US authorities say he remains presumed innocent until proven guilty.

A Nigerian man living in the United States is now facing the possibility of spending up to 30 years behind bars after US authorities accused him of playing a key role in a romance scam and business email fraud that allegedly cost a government agency more than $300,000.

According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, 45-year-old Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, who lives in Frisco, Texas, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of money laundering as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.

Prosecutors claim Udugba and several other suspects ran overlapping romance scams and business email compromise (BEC) schemes, using social media platforms and dating websites to lure unsuspecting victims into fake romantic relationships.

The victims, investigators alleged, were manipulated into becoming money mules who received and cashed fraudulently obtained cheques.

The US Attorney, Brian Miller, said in a statement:

"Udugba and others utilised social media and dating websites to meet and establish purported romantic relationships with persons in multiple states."

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"Those persons were groomed and ultimately used by Udugba and others as money mules to receive and cash fraudulently obtained checks," he added.

Authorities also alleged that members of the group sent emails from spoofed addresses traced to Nigeria while pretending to represent the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

According to Miller: "Members of the conspiracy sent emails from ‘spoofed’ addresses in Nigeria, claiming to be representatives of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service."

The fake emails reportedly instructed that grant funds belonging to the agency be used to pay fabricated invoices.

"The spoofed emails directed that FWS grant funds be used to pay fabricated invoices, which falsely represented that the money mules were contractors and consultants of FWS who had performed work on grant-eligible projects," Miller stated.

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Investigators said those fake invoices convinced the agency's grant administrator to approve payments worth more than $300,000 before the alleged fraud was uncovered.

If found guilty, Udugba could receive a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, followed by supervised release and financial penalties.

However, prosecutors also reminded the public that the charges remain allegations for now.

"The indictments and criminal information are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court," the statement noted.

The latest case comes just months after another US-based Nigerian, Ifeanyi Ugwu, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business involving more than $5 million in illegally obtained funds. Ugwu, who lives in Bakersfield, California, also faces a possible prison sentence after admitting to running the operation between December 2020 and August 2023.