Nigerian-American Faces 20 Years in Prison Over Money Laundering and Fraud Charges
A United States-based Nigerian, Samson Omoniyi, is among nine individuals charged in a multi-state money laundering organization. Omoniyi and his accomplices were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly laundering millions of dollars derived from internet fraud, including business email compromise schemes.
According to the press statement released by the Office of the Public Affairs of the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendants were arrested in a coordinated takedown across three jurisdictions. Omoniyi, 43, of Houston, was charged alongside Misha L. Cooper, 50, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Robert A. Cooper, 66, of Murfreesboro; Carlesha L. Perry, 36, of Houston; Whitney D. Bardley, 30, of Florissant, Missouri; Lauren O. Guidry, 32, of Houston; Caira Y. Osby, 44, of Houston; Dazai S. Harris, 34, of Murfreesboro; and Edward D. Peebles, 35, of Murfreesboro.
The indictment alleges that the defendants were members of a long-running money laundering organization operating since approximately November 2016 in and around Tennessee, Texas, and across the country. The conspirators are said to have used sham and front companies to conceal the fraud proceeds and enrich the members of the syndicate.
Each of the defendants could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
This case comes on the heels of another recent fraud conviction involving Nigerian-Americans. In a separate case, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu were sentenced by a U.S. federal jury to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding some U.S. citizens of $3.5 million through various scams, including romance scams and false inheritance claims.
