A Nigerian national who lived in St. Robert was sentenced in federal court Friday for his role in a large fraud conspiracy that used various internet scams to defraud victims.
Segun Prosper Otaru, 27, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Otaru to pay $25,056 in restitution, and to forfeit the same amount to the government.
Court documents note it is expected he will be removed from the United States after his release from incarceration.
On May 2, Otaru pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting the theft of public money. According to court documents, Otaru used 13 aliases and multiple bank accounts opened under false identities in order to move funds and perpetrate various frauds as a part of an organized crime network over the course of his five years in the United States.
Otaru admitted he participated, at least as early as 2016, in a scheme to defraud people through various scams, such as posting internet advertisements on sites such as Craigslist.com for goods, services and rental accommodations. Conspirators sought to induce individuals responding to the advertisements to pay for the goods and services, which they had no intention to provide.