A federal court has sentenced a Nigerian citizen to six years in prison for involvement in a fraud scheme targeting property owners. Uwa Nosakhare, aged 26, alongside accomplices, impersonated property owners to negotiate the sale of vacant lots in Palm Beach County, Florida, without authorization. The scheme, which ran from April 2022 to April 2023, used personal identifiable information (PII) of victims to generate fraudulent documents like driver licenses, notary credentials, and bank statements.
Upon completion of these fraudulent sales, the illicit proceeds were directed to accounts controlled by those participating in the scheme. Nosakhare entered a guilty plea on charges of aggravated identity theft and mail fraud in January.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida announced the sentence alongside Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI's Miami Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, and Chief Michele Miuccio of the Boca Raton Police Department.
The investigation involved cooperation between the FBI Miami, HSI Miami, PBSO, and Boca Raton Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Chapman prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Stone managing asset forfeiture.
Court documents and further information about the case are available on the Southern District of Florida's Court website under case number 24-cr-80084.