Ex-Canton residents sentenced to prison for pandemic and romance scams
BOSTON – Two former Canton residents were sentenced Tuesday in federal court for their roles in a money laundering and bank fraud scheme that resulted in millions of dollars in losses from pandemic fraud, romance scams and other scams, the U.S. Attorney's Office says.
Osakpamwan Henry Omoruyi, 37, and Osaretin Godspower Omoruyi, 36, of Nigeria, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 78 months and 72 months in prison, respectively.
They were convicted of one count of bank fraud, one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy after an eight-day jury trial in June.
The pair opened bank accounts in the names of a fake company and fake people using falsified foreign passports, federal prosecutors said. They used those accounts to receive the proceeds from frauds committed by co-conspirators, including pandemic unemployment assistance fraud, romance scams and other online scams.
Most of the fraud proceeds came from romance scams, prosecutors said. Between 2019 and 2021, the bank accounts involved in the scheme received more than $2 million in fraud proceeds, most of which was transferred to overseas bank accounts controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators.
“What these men did is disgraceful. They cashed in on a public health crisis, stole millions from hard-working Americans who were looking for love online, struggling to feed their families and keep their businesses afloat, and sent that money to their friends overseas,” said Jodi Cohen, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Romance, pandemic scams land ex-Canton residents in prison
