LAS VEGAS, NV – Norbert Ozemena Ikwuegbundo, 31, a citizen of Nigeria, was sentenced to 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release for defrauding more than 3,500 victims in a rental housing scheme that netted approximately $3.3 million. United States District Judge Gloria M. Navarro also ordered Ikwuegbundo to pay $2,223,124.69 in restitution to the victims.
Ikwuegbundo pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, possession of document-making implements and authentication features, and concealment money laundering. According to court records, from May 2018 to September 2019, Ikwuegbundo and co-defendant Omoniyi Johnathan Omotere engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deceive victims into wiring them money for rental properties. The defendants used counterfeit identification and assumed the identities of real homeowners, altering contact information to deceive potential renters. The criminals also used false rental agreements to buy time for picking up wired funds.
After obtaining the funds, the defendants laundered the money by purchasing salvaged vehicles in the United States, which they then shipped and sold in Nigeria. The profits were deposited into accounts controlled by Ikwuegbundo and Omotere.
