Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested and charged Kingsley Inegbedion, a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, with a 16-count criminal indictment for his alleged involvement in a $1.5 million internet fraud and money laundering scheme.
Gatekeepers News reports that Inegbedion and his co-conspirator, Efemena Igbe, perpetrated romance scams and business email compromise schemes, posing as legitimate businesses to defraud American citizens between April 2020 and May 2023, according to the indictment.
The FBI alleges that the duo used sham corporate entities to receive fraudulent funds, which were then distributed into other accounts within and outside the US to conceal the fraud.
The indictment also states that the defendants used stolen funds to purchase cashier’s checks and withdraw cash from various bank accounts.
The FBI is seeking restitution of funds and forfeiture of property obtained through the fraud scheme.
According to the indictment, “Upon conviction…the defendants shall forfeit to the United States of America…any property, real or personal, involved in such offense, and any property traceable to such property…including a money judgment.”
Inegbedion was taken into custody after the grand jury returned the indictment. His co-conspirator, Igbe, is reportedly at large in Nigeria.
