New Jersey Man Gets 6½ Years in Federal Prison in $3.4 Million Money Laundering Scheme
NEWARK, NJ — A dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen tied to a multimillion-dollar money laundering conspiracy that moved more than $3.4 million through New Jersey business accounts will spend six and a half years in federal prison, according to federal prosecutors.
Eseosa Brigut Omoruyi, 36, who lived in both Irvington, New Jersey, and Nigeria, was sentenced in federal court after admitting his role in a conspiracy that laundered funds through shell business accounts between 2020 and 2024. Prosecutors said part of the scheme involved proceeds from a fraudulently obtained COVID-era Economic Injury Disaster Loan tied to a Newport News company.
Federal investigators said Omoruyi operated Peller Goods, LLC, a New Jersey business he created in July 2019, and used the company’s bank accounts to receive and transfer illicit funds in exchange for a cut of the transactions.
More Than $3.4 Million Moved Through Business Accounts
According to court records, the laundering operation ran from at least March 2020 through November 2024.
Prosecutors said Omoruyi recruited Wilvert Telfo, 31, of Bayonne, New Jersey, to help move money through another business, Royal Skoob Productions, LLC.
Authorities said Omoruyi laundered approximately $3,442,230 during the conspiracy, while Telfo handled roughly $1,042,361 through his own accounts and business transactions.
The case also tied the operation to pandemic relief fraud involving a $174,400 Economic Injury Disaster Loan issued through the U.S. Treasury Department to MediPro Corporation in Newport News.
Key Points
• Eseosa Brigut Omoruyi received a 6½-year federal prison sentence in a money laundering conspiracy
• Prosecutors said the scheme moved more than $3.4 million through New Jersey business accounts
• Investigators linked part of the operation to fraudulent COVID-era disaster loan funds
Fraudulent COVID Relief Funds Became Part of Scheme
Federal prosecutors detailed how funds from the fraudulent disaster loan moved through accounts tied to the conspiracy.
On July 3, 2020, the owner of MediPro Corporation wired $70,000 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan to Royal Skoob Productions, according to court filings.
At Omoruyi’s direction, prosecutors said Telfo transferred $25,421.45 through a cashier’s check to another company on July 6, 2020. Two days later, Telfo withdrew another $25,905 and transferred those funds as well.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program was created to provide emergency financial relief to businesses struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal authorities across the country later launched large-scale investigations into fraudulent loan applications and laundering operations tied to relief funds.
Co-Conspirator Previously Sentenced
Telfo previously pleaded guilty on March 23, 2023, to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced in August 2023 to two years and six months in federal prison.
Federal authorities did not identify additional defendants in Tuesday’s sentencing announcement, but investigators described the laundering operation as involving another unnamed conspirator who routed funds through Omoruyi’s business accounts.
FBI and IRS Led Investigation
The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and IRS Criminal Investigation’s Washington Field Office investigated the case.
Federal prosecutors announced the sentencing in Newport News federal court.
Omoruyi’s prison sentence closes one of several federal prosecutions tied to the misuse of pandemic-era relief money and laundering operations that used business entities to move illicit funds across state lines.
As of Wednesday, no additional charges connected to the case had been announced publicly.
