A United States court has sentenced two Nigerian-born men to federal prison for their central role in a sophisticated money laundering operation that defrauded elderly victims of millions of dollars.
The Sentencing and The Scheme
On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Olumide Olorunfunmi, 40, and Emmanuel Unuigbe, 43, were each handed a 30-month prison term by a court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Following their imprisonment, both men will be under supervised release for three years. The court also mandated that they pay over $4.6 million in restitution to their victims.
According to evidence presented in court, the duo conspired with others from 2020 through 2023 to launder criminal proceeds. The funds were derived from malicious fraud schemes, including romance scams that deliberately targeted elderly individuals and complex business email compromise (BEC) attacks.
How The Money Laundering Operation Worked
Court documents reveal that the conspiracy's victims were instructed to transfer money into various bank accounts within the US and abroad, which were controlled by Olorunfunmi, Unuigbe, and their network. Once the illicit funds were received, the conspirators would quickly move them to other accounts to obscure their origin.
The scale of the fraud was massive, with more than 125 victims collectively losing over $4.5 million. The two men profited by taking a cut of the stolen money. They also engaged in a complex currency exchange scheme, using a 'black market' exchange rate to pay co-conspirators in Nigeria with Naira from local accounts for the US Dollar deposits they received.
Guilty Pleas and A Related Case
Olorunfunmi and Unuigbe had previously entered guilty pleas for their crimes. In a related development, Samson Amos was sentenced for conspiring to run an unlicensed money transmitting business connected to the operation. He received a sentence of five years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and was also ordered to pay restitution.
The announcement of the sentencing was made by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina, who was joined by FBI Special Agent in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. They confirmed that the FBI led the investigation, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan.
