Two Nigerian-Born Men Sentenced in US for $4.6M Elderly Fraud Scheme
Story: written by Zara November 20,2025
Two Nigerian-born men have been sentenced to prison in the United States for orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme that defrauded elderly Americans of millions of dollars.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 40-year-old Olumide Olorunfunmi and 43-year-old Emmanuel Unuigbe received 30-month prison terms each, followed by three years of supervised release.
The court also ordered the pair to jointly repay over $4.6 million, money prosecutors say was stolen from seniors who had spent decades building their life savings.
Investigators revealed that between 2020 and 2023, the duo ran a three-year operation targeting vulnerable Americans through romance scams and business email compromise schemes. Over 125 victims were identified, with funds funneled into accounts controlled by the defendants and then moved through complex domestic and international transfers to conceal the money’s origins.
Prosecutors added that Olorunfunmi and Unuigbe converted part of the stolen funds into Nigerian Naira via black-market exchanges, profiting from the transactions. Both men had pleaded guilty earlier in 2025.
A third accomplice, Samson Amos, received five years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and was ordered to pay restitution.
