US Court Sentences Nigerian Citizen To Prison For Fraud And Laundering Millions Of Dollars In Romance Scam
Otaniyen Iduozee, a Nigerian national who entered the United States on a student visa, has been sentenced to 42 months in prison in Wisconsin for his involvement in laundering the proceeds of a large-scale fraud scheme.
Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Richard Frohling, announced this in a statement on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
Iduozee previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).
According to court records, the case involved a “romance scam,” which is a fraud scheme—typically targeting elderly or vulnerable Americans—in which the fraudster feigns romantic intentions towards a victim.
The fraudster, using a fake or stolen identity, typically meets the victim through an online dating website or application.
The fraudster spends weeks or months cultivating a romantic relationship with the victim through online messaging, emails, text messaging, or voice calls, to gain his or her affection and trust.
Once the fraudster gains the victim’s affection, he begins to tell the victim about urgent financial needs, such as a business opportunity, a tax debt, or a family illness, and pressures the victim to provide financial assistance, often with the promise of repayment.
Those “loans” are never repaid, however, and many victims have lost their life savings.
Court records demonstrate that after obtaining the victims’ funds in this case, the defendants laundered them through multiple transactions and moved the funds overseas.
Iduozee was a money launderer for the conspiracy who established and controlled numerous fraudulent bank accounts through which millions of dollars of victims’ funds were laundered.
He engaged in laundering transactions that were designed to, and did, remit the victims’ funds back to Nigeria.
At the sentencing hearing, Chief United States District Court Judge Pamela Pepper acknowledged the widespread nature of these types of fraud schemes and the devastating impact they have on victims.
Upon completion of his 42-month sentence, Iduozee has agreed to removal from the United States.
“Individuals and groups who engage in these types of schemes not only cause financial loss but also shatter the trust of their victims, inflicting multiple layers of trauma and harm,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling.
“I commend the courage of the victims in speaking up and commend the hard work of all involved in seeking to hold the conspirators accountable for their actions.”
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Rebecca Taibleson and Carter Stewart.
