United States Attorney Duane A. Evans has announced that Emmanuel Ugbaja, aged 55, from Duluth, Georgia, entered a guilty plea on January 7, 2025. The plea was made before United States District Judge Darrel James Papillion to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Court documents reveal that in 2018, two individuals were defrauded through separate internet scams. One victim from Kansas fell prey to a "romance scam," where they sent money to an unknown conspirator pretending to be a love interest. Another victim in California was deceived by an "inheritance scam," sending funds to someone posing as an attorney. Under the direction of co-conspirators, these victims transferred money to a bank account managed by Ugbaja. He kept part of the funds for himself and forwarded the remaining $60,000 to a local maritime broker as a partial down payment for an unrelated vessel.
Ugbaja's sentencing is scheduled for April 8, 2025. He faces up to five years in prison and could receive up to three years of supervised release following imprisonment. Additionally, he may be fined up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss related to his crime and will be required to pay a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.
This case forms part of a broader national initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating online fraud schemes that frequently originate overseas and target U.S. citizens. The public is urged to report any suspected online fraud or scams to the Federal Bureau of Investigation at https://www.ic3.gov/.
The United States Attorney’s Office acknowledges the assistance provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Rivera from the Financial Crimes Unit is handling the prosecution.