(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A Chicago man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in an international romance scam that bilked millions from victims.
Prosecutors say 39-year-old Olaniyi Nasiru Ojikutu was one of 10 fraudsters who built trust with victims, mostly the elderly, through online romances before convincing them to send money.
The victims were contacted via websites such as Match.com, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ojikutu opened 25 bank accounts through which approximately $3.4 million in fraudulently obtained money was transferred, prosecutors said. He allegedly used his share of proceeds to purchase vehicles in the U.S. and ship them to Nigeria for resale.
Some victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the government said.
Ojikutu fled to Canada in 2019 after being charged, officials said. He was turned over to U.S. authorities in 2020 and pleaded guilty last year to a single count of wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said.
U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey on Wednesday imposed the 88-month prison sentence, prosecutors said.
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