A Georgia man has been sentenced to five years of probation, including two years of home confinement, for his role in laundering money from internet scams that targeted victims in Kansas and California. Emmanuel Ugbaja, 56, of Duluth, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court records, the case involved two separate scams in 2018. One victim from Kansas sent money to a person posing as a romantic partner in a “romance scam,” while another victim from California sent funds to someone claiming to be an attorney in an “inheritance scam.” Both victims were instructed by co-conspirators to send their money to a bank account controlled by Ugbaja. He kept part of the funds and used $60,000 as a down payment with a local maritime broker for an unrelated vessel purchase.
In addition to probation and home confinement, Ugbaja was ordered to pay more than $97,000 in restitution to the fraud victims and over $135,000 to the Small Business Administration for uncharged CARES Act COVID-19 funding fraud. He must also pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
“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/,” said Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation assisted with this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera from the Financial Crimes Unit prosecuted the matter.
