AUSTIN – A Nigerian citizen and resident of Canada was sentenced today to nearly 14 years in prison for his role in a fraudulent “sweepstakes” scheme with a loss in excess of $260 million.
According to court documents, on September 4, 2018, Harry Cole, aka “Akintomide Ayoola Bolu,” “John King,” “Big Bro,” “Egbon,” 51, was one of eight defendants charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. The fraud is a type of “sweepstakes” scheme that ran from 2012 to 2016. Cole purchased lists of potential elderly victims and their addresses. Cole and other conspirators based in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada metropolitan area sent packages containing fraudulent sweepstakes information to conspirators residing in the U.S. The packages contained thousands of mailers that U.S.-based conspirators then sent to victims notifying them that they had won a sweepstakes. Each mailer included a fraudulent check issued in the name of the victim, usually in the amount of $8,000 and a pre-addressed envelope.
Victims were instructed to deposit the check into their bank account, to immediately withdraw between $5,000 and $7,000 dollars in cash or money orders and to send the money to a “sweepstakes representative” to facilitate the collection of the prize. By the time the bank notified the victim that the deposited check was fraudulent, the victim had sent cash or a money order that was received by the defendants or conspirators. Later, the conspiracy recruited an Austin-based conspirator, Stephen Omowaiye, who printed and sent sweepstakes scam packages to victims and also received victim payments in Austin.
The intended loss from this scheme was over $260 million with an actual loss of more than $900,000.
Today, Cole was sentenced to 166 months of imprisonment as well as three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $850,000 and to pay $111,870.25 in restitution.
“Cole and the other perpetrators of this despicable scam tricked hundreds of elderly victims out of their hard-earned money while the conspirators callously disregarded the consequences to our senior citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “This case demonstrates our office’s commitment to hold accountable those who prey upon vulnerable victims. We will use every tool at our disposal to make sure they cannot hide in other countries and escape justice.”
“Our investigative reach in this case, through international cooperation with Canada, shows that justice can prevail even when criminals are outside of our nation’s borders,” said Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRSCI) Special Agent in Charge Ramsey E. Covington of the Houston Field Office. “Through the teamwork with our law enforcement counterparts in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and the Toronto Police Department, we stopped Harry Cole and his co-conspirators and their international sweepstakes and stolen identity tax refund fraud rings that targeted numerous elderly U.S. citizens. While IRSCI will pursue criminals, the best defense is to always protect your personal information and to verify first before sending any money domestically or internationally.”
“This federal investigation uncovered a sophisticated scheme that exploited legitimate financial institutions to defraud businesses and residents of the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Shane Folden, HSI San Antonio. “These types of crimes swindle hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. victims each year and illicitly finance criminal organizations around the world. HSI and its law enforcement partners will continue to do everything possible to stop this kind of fraud and ensure the financial integrity of the homeland.”
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has been at the forefront of protecting consumers from fraud schemes for many years,” said Inspector in Charge Scott Fix. “There are a wide variety of financial schemes that target our most vulnerable populations, including the elderly, and the effects of those schemes are devastating to the victim and their families. The Inspection Service is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetrate these fraud schemes and bring them to justice.”
On October 27, 2021, Cole pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud. He has remained in federal custody since his extradition and arrest on August 20, 2020.
Co-defendants include: Nigerian citizen and U.S. resident Akintola Akinmadeyemi; Austin residents Joel Calvin and Clarence Barefield (aka CJ); Mesquite, TX, resident Donna Lundy; Nigerian citizens and Canadian residents Tony Dada Akinbobola (aka Lawrence D Awoniyi, aka Boss Tony, aka Toyin), Emmanuel Olawale Ajayi (aka Wale, aka Walata), and Bolaji Akinwunmi Oyewole (aka BJ, aka Beejay).
On January 24, 2019, Calvin pleaded guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud. On February 15, 2019, Lundy pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Both are scheduled for sentencing on March 3, 2022.
On February 19, 2019, Akinmadeyemi pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud. He was sentenced to 120 months in prison and ordered to pay $111,870.25 in restitution.
On April 26, 2019, Barefield pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering. He was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
On February 11, 2022, Akinbobola was extradited to the United States from Canada and is awaiting arraignment in Austin.
Ajayi and Oyewole are fugitives.
IRSCI, HSI, and USPIS investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael C. Galdo prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. Attorneys with the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted with the extradition of Cole from Canada.
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