LAS VEGAS – A federal jury convicted a Las Vegas man yesterday for his role in a mail forwarding and identity theft scheme, which defrauded more than 300 victims.
Following a two-day trial, Nosa Frank Obayando (29) was found guilty of one count of mail theft, one count of using an unauthorized access device, and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon presided over the trial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) was alerted in April 2017 to a fraudulent mail forwarding scheme. The USPIS’ investigation revealed that Obayando and co-defendant Efeturi Ariawhorai carried out a scheme where mail belonging to over 300 victims was forwarded to addresses under Obayando and Ariawhorai’s control, without the victims’ knowledge or consent. As part of the scheme, Obayando and Ariawhorai used a debit card — for a bank account opened in a victim’s name — to withdraw at least $5,000 in cash from ATMs in the Las Vegas area.
Obayando is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2022. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of two years in prison and a statutory maximum penalty of 17 years in prison.
Co-defendant Ariawhorai has been arrested by authorities in Italy and is currently pending extradition proceedings.
Acting U.S. Attorney Christopher Chiou for the District of Nevada made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the USPIS. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Simon Kung and Tony Lopez are prosecuting the case.
Please report suspected mail fraud and mail theft to the USPIS by calling 877-876-2455 or by making a report online at https://www.uspis.gov/report.
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