A Nigerian man who posed as a woman online to scam men out of their savings has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in the United States. He was arrested after he accidentally tried to scam a fellow con artist. Saheed Sunday Owolabi, was convicted after a jury trial in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
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According to evidence presented at the trial, Owolabi posed as a woman online to establish relationships with men across America. He and his accomplices exploited these fake online relationships to convince their victims to hand over money and personal information. The bank accounts the victims provided were then used to launder money from other scams they were perpetrating.
Owolabi's criminal activities extended beyond love scams. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his accomplices gained unauthorized access to information about the sale of a house and sent fake emails instructing their victim to transfer money to a bank account under their control.
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In total, more than $1.5 million was allegedly laundered in Nigeria from victims across America, including a victim in North Carolina who lost more than $120,000. Investigators have uncovered evidence that Owolabi was also scammed. In one case, while trying to convince his “sexy” victim to send him money, he discovered that the person he was communicating with was also a fraudster.
When they realized they both worked in the same “industry,” the conversation shifted from the scam scenarios to a critique of Owolabi’s amateurish technique, with the other scammer mocking him for his skills and advising him to “learn how to do a clean job.” This interaction proved disastrous for Owolabi’s defense, as it showed that he was not a “middleman,” but a top member of the gang, actively trying to improve his “art.”
Owolabi did not hesitate to enjoy the benefits of his success as a con artist. At his sentencing, prosecutors revealed images found on his phone at the time of his arrest, showing how he had spent his stolen fortune on expensive items. U.S. Chief Judge Richard E. Myers II ruled that Owolabi was a leading figure in an extensive fraud operation, causing significant financial hardship to victims.
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Dating scams remain among the most financially devastating forms of cybercrime, exploiting human emotion rather than technical vulnerabilities. Dating scam victims are not duped by malware, but by the belief that someone truly cares about them. For Owolabi, the next 15 years in a U.S. federal prison will give him plenty of time to reflect on what it really means to be cheated.
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