A Nigerian national, Okechukwu Josiah Odunna, appeared in a Miami federal court following his extradition from Nigeria. He is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. The charges relate to a scheme involving fraudulent loans for about 20 residential properties in Florida, leading to an $8 million loss for U.S. financial institutions.
Odunna was arrested on September 24, 2024, by Nigerian authorities after the United States requested his extradition. He was transferred to the Southern District of Florida on March 6 after waiving extradition rights. Odunna remains in custody and will attend pretrial detention and arraignment hearings on March 11 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman.
The indictment claims that between December 2005 and May 2008, Odunna and others defrauded U.S. banking institutions through false representations in loan applications related to property purchases. These actions led lenders to provide more money than warranted due to inflated sale prices and false borrower identities.
Odunna, then a licensed attorney and director at Direct Title and Escrow Services, Inc., acted as the settlement agent in approximately 20 fraudulent closings. To conceal the fraud, he provided misleading settlement statements omitting key transaction details.
His co-conspirators include Karl Oreste, Marie Lucie Tondreau, and Kelly Augustin. Oreste pleaded guilty and received a 100-month prison sentence; Tondreau was convicted at trial and sentenced to 65 months; Augustin is still at large.
If found guilty, Odunna could face up to 30 years imprisonment for each charge along with fines and supervised release post-incarceration. Sentencing would consider U.S. Sentencing Guidelines among other factors.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida announced this development alongside Acting Special Agent Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office and Commissioner Russell C. Weigel III of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR).
The FBI Miami Field Office alongside OFR are conducting investigations into this case with significant support from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs which aided Odunna's arrest and extradition process.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Maria Martinez leads prosecution efforts while Assistant U.S Attorney Daren Grove manages asset forfeiture proceedings.
An indictment remains an allegation until proven beyond reasonable doubt in court where all defendants are presumed innocent.
For further information or related court documents regarding this case under number 14-cr-20349 can be accessed via www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.