A resident of the United Arab Emirates, who is also a Nigerian citizen, has been handed an eight-year federal prison sentence for masterminding a fraudulent scheme worth millions of dollars that targeted businesses across the United States. Illinois federal prosecutors made this announcement.
Olalekan Jacob Ponle was extradited from the UAE to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in July 2020. He remained in their custody until earlier this year when he pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice in a press release on Tuesday.
Ponle collaborated with a network of scammers who posed as legitimate corporate entities using phishing emails to deceive employees into transferring money on behalf of their supposed “employers,” who were, in fact, the scammers themselves.
Known more widely as Woodberry, Ponle gained notoriety in his home country of Nigeria for flaunting his lavish lifestyle on social media platforms.
To launder the funds he received, Ponle relied on a group of “mules” to convert the money into bitcoins. He used the proceeds from his fraudulent activities to purchase luxury vehicles, including a Rolls Royce Cullinan and a Lamborghini Urus, collectively valued at over $1 million.
Ponle is set to forfeit these assets and pay restitution exceeding $8 million to the victimized companies. Additionally, Ponle had already forfeited 151 bitcoins, valued at over $4.5 million as of Wednesday.
It’s worth noting that Ponle was prosecuted despite the absence of an extradition treaty between the UAE and the United States. Officials from the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs collaborated closely with their counterparts in the UAE to secure Ponle’s extradition.
