A 38-year-old Nigerian man, Kizito Chukwujekwu, residing in Morrow, Georgia, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the United States.
This was announced by the Acting United States Attorney, John J. Farley in a statement last Wednesday.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between June of 2016 and August of 2017, Chukwujekwu and others opened at least 10 bank accounts at banks in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Georgia using other persons’ identification information. Chukwujekwu or his co-conspirators then deposited fraudulent checks into those accounts.
After the money was credited to the accounts but before the bank determined the check was false, one of Chukwujekwu’s accomplices withdrew money from the bank accounts. During the scheme, the conspirators deposited fraudulent checks worth more than $119,000 (N67,830,000) and withdrew more than $69,000 (N39,330,000).
Chukwujekwu previously pleaded guilty on July 13, 2021. In addition to his sentence, he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $69,168.25.
On January 3, 2020, Chinedu Ihejiere, a co-conspirator was sentenced to 25 months in prison for participating in the same scheme.
“Financial fraud schemes cause real damage to their victims,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley. “We work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify those who are responsible for committing bank fraud and other fraud offences. As this case demonstrates, those who come to New Hampshire to commit fraud schemes will be prosecuted aggressively and will find themselves in federal prison.”
“Fueled by nothing more than pure and simple greed, Kizito Chukwujekwu and his co-conspirators stole tens of thousands of dollars from people they figured would never miss it. However, he was clearly wrong,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “This case demonstrates how the FBI, and our partners won’t stand for criminals who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of innocent Americans.”
