Two Nigerians, 28-year-old Norbert Ozemena Ikwuegbundo and 35-year-old Omniyi Jonathan Omotere, residents of Las Vegas, Nevada, have been charged for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
They also both risk 97 and and about 40 years in prison, respectively over an alleged $3.3 million house rent scam.
According to the court indictment, they were nabbed for also using multiple false identities and counterfeit drivers’ licenses.
The duo were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, UK Times News reports.
In addition, Ikwuegbundo was charged for possessing equipment used to make counterfeit drivers’ licenses, one count of concealment money laundering, and one count of aggravated identity theft while Omotere is charged with one count of wire fraud.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Los Angeles Field Office; prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Drain.
In the indictment, it was revealed that from about March 2018 until about September 2019, the defendants and others engaged in the scheme.
The document alleged that Ikwuegbundo and Omotere assumed the identities of homeowners who were advertising on websites to rent their properties.
They reduced rent prices, using the names and personal identifiers of true homeowners but altering the contact information to email addresses and phone numbers controlled by the duo – sending fake rental agreements for victims to sign.
According to the court indictment, the defendants were alleged to have laundered proceeds from the scheme by using some of the stolen money to buy cars at auction.
If convicted, Ikwuegbundo faces a statutory maximum sentence of 97 years in prison and Omotere faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in prison.
This story was first published in Sahara Reporters