MIAMI – A woman in South Florida received a personalized letter from a bank in Spain claiming she had received an inheritance from a late relative.
When the woman responded, the bank representative said she had to pay taxes and a delivery fee to receive the multimillion inheritance.
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Federal prosecutors said the woman was among the 400 victims who responded to the personalized letters and were defrauded of about $6 million.
Federal investigators identified Okezie Bonaventure Ogbata as a member of the transnational crime ring. On Wednesday, in Miami federal court, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman is set to be sentenced on April 14. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and the Portuguese Judicial Police and Public Prosecution Service worked on the case.
Six other co-conspirators from the United Kingdom, Spain, and Nigeria have been convicted and sentenced in connection with this scheme.
Federal prosecutors asked anyone who is age 60 or older and who has been a victim of financial fraud to call the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.