Isaiah Okere, a 42-year-old man from Nigeria, admitted to doing bad things on the internet that made over 15 people and companies in America lose more than $1 million.
Okere went to court in New York City and told Judge Lewis Liman that he was part of a plan to trick people and get their money.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Okere worked with a criminal group called Black Axe. They lied to people using romance scams, fake lottery wins, and fake business emails to get money from others.
The people they tricked were mostly older folks who lived alone. Some of them lost all their money because of these tricks.
Police caught Okere in South Africa in December 2021. They brought him to the U.S. on August 23, 2024. He might go to prison for five years because he said he was guilty of planning to trick people.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney, said, “Isaiah Okere and his helpers hurt older and lonely people who lost everything because of these tricks. We will make sure he is punished for what he did.”
This bad plan started in 2015 and went on until November 2019, hurting many people both emotionally and financially.
Some victims thought they were in love with Okere and his friends. They gave away their savings and even borrowed money from family and friends. One woman felt so sad after losing her money that she wanted to harm herself.
Besides romance scams, Okere and his friends lied about lottery wins. They told people they won prizes but needed to pay money first to get the rewards.
They also tricked a company in Manhattan by pretending to be the company’s boss and made the company send money.
Okere talked to U.S. victims using fake names and controlled many bank accounts in South Africa where the stolen money was sent.
One of Okere’s partners, Timy Hakim, was jailed for two years in 2023 and told to give back more than $1.4 million to the victims.