The Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested Samuel Ugberaese after he was extradited from Nigeria to the United States on charges relating to cross-border romance scams that targeted victims in the U.S. and elsewhere.
The U.S. justice department made the announcement on Tuesday.
According to the indictment, Ugberaese and his co-conspirators used romance scheme techniques, including false stories and promises, to exploit and defraud victims into transferring money on their behalf.
A federal grand jury returned the indictment in the EDNC on January 22, 2021. A U.S. magistrate judge, Brian Myers, ordered Mr Ugberaese detained pending trial.
Additionally, the indictment alleged that Mr Ugberaese conspired with a co-defendant Oluwadamilare Kolaogunbule, a naturalised American citizen, to conduct financial transactions through his bank account network, including accounts registered to purported export companies, to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the criminal proceeds.
Mr Ugberaese is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
Considered a socialite, Mr Ugberease emerged on the social media space with glitz.
