ALEXANDRIA, VA – A man and woman from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Dasola Abdulraheem, 41, and Ismaila Abdulraheem, 44, both Nigerian nationals and ex-spouses, have pleaded guilty to charges related to their role in laundering money obtained from various financial fraud schemes targeting retirement and investment accounts.

As per court documents, from September 2017 to April 2020, the Abdulraheems received proceeds from financial frauds into accounts they controlled. They then conducted transactions to disguise the origin and nature of these funds. The fraud involved unknown co-conspirators who accessed victims’ financial accounts, typically retirement or investment accounts, by posing as the account holders. They then directed funds from these compromised accounts to the Abdulraheems or their accomplices.

One instance detailed in the scheme involved co-conspirators gaining access to a victim’s severance payout and directing it into an account controlled by the Abdulraheems or one of their money mules. The laundered money was used to buy salvage cars at auction or wired to businesses in Nigeria. The conspiracy aimed to steal approximately $866,195, resulting in an actual loss of around $641,260.

To conceal their involvement, the Abdulraheems used shell companies. Ismaila Abdulraheem pleaded guilty on October 27, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Dasola Abdulraheem pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of stolen monies, facing a maximum of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for February 9, 2024, and March 22, 2024, respectively.

Actual sentences for federal crimes typically fall below the maximum penalties, and a federal district court judge will determine the sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., after Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton accepted the plea.

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