A Nigerian national who posed as a woman online to woo unsuspecting Americans has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in Wilmington, after a jury found him guilty in a romance-scam conspiracy that siphoned more than $1.5 million from victims across the country. Prosecutors say the long-running scheme targeted people in several federal districts, including at least one victim in the Eastern District of North Carolina who lost more than $120,000.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the defendant, Saheed Sunday Owolabi, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II ordered him to serve 15 years in prison. Prosecutors said Owolabi and his co-conspirators funneled more than $1.5 million to Nigeria and used victims’ bank accounts to move proceeds from several fraudulent operations. The case was investigated by the FBI, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad DeVoe handled the prosecution, the Justice Department said.
The relationships were fake, but the punishment is real.... a Nigerian fraudster was recently sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for running a romance scam, deceiving innocent victims and defrauding them of $1.5 million. It's a red flags if someone you never met asks you for… pic.twitter.com/t6lSbO47Lz
— FBI Charlotte (@FBICharlotte) April 3, 2026
How the scheme worked
In its write-up of the case, the Justice Department said, "Inmate Owolabi pretended to be a woman to build online relationships with men in the United States," describing a textbook romance-scam operation in which con artists slowly earn trust, then pivot to money. Once victims were emotionally invested, the conspirators pushed them to send cash and share access to financial accounts.
Prosecutors said the group did not stop at a single score. They also cycled victims' bank accounts back into the operation, using them as pass-through vehicles to launder criminal proceeds back to Nigeria. Court records highlight one Eastern District of North Carolina victim who was left more than $120,000 in the hole.
Sentencing and investigation
At sentencing, Chief Judge Myers found that Owolabi acted as a leader or organizer in what the court described as a large-scale fraud, a conclusion that helped drive the lengthy prison term. Local coverage reported that the judge weighed not only the dollar figures, but also the emotional wreckage left behind by the scam.
WWAY reported that prosecutors pointed to photos recovered from Owolabi’s phone that showed how he enjoyed the proceeds of the fraud, visual evidence that did not play well in a courtroom filled with stories of financial ruin. The FBI’s Charlotte field office also highlighted the conviction in a public post on X, using the case as a warning about how convincing online swindlers can be.
Wider trend
The Wilmington sentence lands amid a broader national push against romance scams. In a separate case detailed in a different Justice Department press release, prosecutors in another district described a similar network that also produced more than $1.5 million in victim losses and sent multiple defendants to federal prison, a reminder that these operations rarely respect geographic lines.
Consumer protection officials say romance fraud continues to drain hundreds of millions of dollars from Americans every year and remains a top concern for federal enforcement partners, including the Federal Trade Commission. The schemes evolve with the technology, but the core pitch is familiar: fast-moving intimacy, sweeping promises, then sudden financial “emergencies” that never quite end.
Charges and penalties
Owolabi’s convictions for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering each carry statutory maximum penalties of up to 20 years in federal prison. The primary penalty provisions appear in 18 U.S.C. § 1343, which governs wire fraud, and 18 U.S.C. § 1956, which covers money laundering.
On top of prison time, such convictions frequently come with restitution orders that require defendants to pay back victims, along with forfeiture of assets tied to the crime. Those financial penalties can follow a defendant for years, even after release from custody.
How to protect yourself
Experts warn that anyone who starts asking for cash, gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency when you have never met them in person should set off loud internal alarms. The safest move is to cut off contact, save all messages, and call your bank or card issuer immediately if you have already sent money.
The Federal Trade Commission and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center offer practical guidance for victims, including how to document communications, alert financial institutions, and submit formal reports. Even if the money cannot be fully recovered, reporting helps investigators connect patterns across multiple victims and build the kind of cases that led to Owolabi’s conviction.
According to court records, the filings in Owolabi’s case are available through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and on PACER for those who want to dig into the docket. For federal authorities, the 15-year sentence is more than a single win. It is a public reminder that romance scams remain a persistent, border-hopping threat, and that victims in communities like Wilmington are on the radar of national law enforcement.
