Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A recidivist money launderer from Pennsylvania has been sentenced for his role in an international money laundering conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.
U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Toochukwu Michael Okorie, 46, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, to 108 months in prison. Okorie was convicted in July of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In 2011, Okorie was convicted of wire fraud and money laundering in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
According to evidence presented at trial, from June 2017 through May 2019, Okorie helped launder hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud proceeds through two front companies: TMO Consulting LLC and Collective Intelligence Forensics LLC. During the conspiracy, Okorie and his co-conspirators would receive wire transfers from business email compromise, romance scam, and other frauds—including from victims in the Northern District of Alabama. Okorie and his co-conspirators would then move the fraud proceeds among bank accounts in an effort to disguise their origin and conceal their fraudulent nature. After paying themselves a commission, members of the conspiracy ultimately would wire the proceeds to bank accounts in Nigeria or use them to purchase automobiles that were shipped overseas.
U.S. District Court Judge Anna M. Manasco previously sentenced two other individuals involved in the money laundering conspiracy: On January 20, 2022, Paulinus Ebhodaghe, 40, of Clementon, New Jersey, was sentenced to 37 months in prison; and Ohimai Asikhia, 37, of Glassboro, New Jersey, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edward J. Canter and John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.
The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Fraud Task Force provided assistance during the investigation.
For more resources on cybercrime, visit www.ic3.gov.