Thirty-two years Olayinka
Ilumsa Sunmola on Wednesday, March 2
2016 pleaded guilty to eight counts of a federal indictment and admitted that
he was the ringleader of a group that successfully wooed hundreds of women
online, then convinced them to send cash to bail him out of phony emergencies.
Sunmola seduced women
online by creating fake online profiles using photos and names of real American
men, including claiming to a former U.S. soldier. He sent flowers, candies,
stuffed animals and more to his victims, conning them into believing that each
was his true love. Once the women were convinced of his love for them, he would
request money from them claiming phony emergencies. Some of the women sent thousands
of dollars.
The victims were not named
but lived around the country, including in Mascoutah and Bond County in
Illinois and St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri.
In one case, Sunmola
tricked one woman into cashing counterfeit or stolen traveller’s checks. She
contemplated suicide when arrested. He lured another into performing sexual
acts, which he recorded via webcam, they said. He then threatened to ruin her
life by publishing the recordings online if she didn’t send him cash, warning that
by the time he was done with her she would want to kill herself.
A Bond County woman bought
electronics and shipped them to Sunmola, reshipped items he’d bought using
stolen credit card information and took out cash advances on a credit card,
forcing herself into bankruptcy with debts of at least $98,000, the indictment
claims.
The investigation included
the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission, Homeland
Security Investigations, the U.S. Secret Service and the Illinois Attorney
General’s Office, as well as South African officials, who investigated
Sunmola’s activities there and started forfeiture proceedings for his assets
there.
Sunmola was indicted in
U.S. District Court in East St. Louis in 2013 on mail fraud, wire fraud,
conspiracy, and interstate extortion charges. He was arrested in August 2014 by
Scotland Yard as he was about to board a flight from London to South Africa,
then extradited here to face the charges.
“Basically, the evidence
established that Sunmola, a citizen of the federal Republic of Nigeria, was a
ringleader of a criminal organization operating within South Africa that
targeted and stole from hundreds of women across the United States,” Acting
United States Attorney James Porter stated.
“Our office will continue
to pursue justice for these victims in Sunmola’s prison sentence and in our
never-ending efforts to get restitution.” Porter added.
Sentencing has been set for
June 17, 2016. Sunmola could get up to 127 years and a fine of $250,000 for
each counts he faces.
Alapa ma se ise
ReplyDeleteOLE INTERNATIONAL 419
ReplyDeleteThese are the people spoiling Nigerians name.
ReplyDelete