Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that EMMANUEL UGBAJA (“UGBAJA”), age 55, of Duluth, Georgia, pled guilty on January 7, 2025 before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Court records show that in 2018, two persons were victimized by two separate internet scams – one such Kansas-based scam involved a victim sending money to an unknown co-conspirator posing as a love interest, during a “romance scam” and the other California-based scam involved a victim sending money to a person posing as an attorney during an “inheritance scam.” At the direction of the co-conspirators, the victims sent the funds to a bank account controlled by UGBAJA. UGBAJA retained a portion of the funds for himself and then sent the remaining victim funds totaling $60,000, to a local maritime broker as partial down payment for an unrelated vessel.
Sentencing is set for April 8, 2025. At that time, the defendant faces up to five (5) years of imprisonment. Upon release from prison, the defendant up to three (3) years of supervised release and up to a $250,000.00 fine, or twice the gross gain to the defendant of twice the gross loss to any victim. The defendant also faces payment of a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
This indictment is part of an ongoing national effort by the Department of Justice to address online fraud schemes often based overseas that target U.S. citizens. The public is encouraged to report potential online fraud activity or scams to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://www.ic3.gov/.
The United States Attorney’s Office would also like to acknowledge the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera of the Financial Crimes Unit.
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