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Christie Easter, 47, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Virginia.
In a shocking turn of events, Christie Easter, 47, of Fort Worth, Texas, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a Virginia court. Easter, along with co-defendant Toheeb Odoffin, 28, of Chicago, was charged with participating in a nationwide and international fraud scheme that operated from Nigeria.
According to investigators, Easter and Odoffin recruited individuals throughout the United States via email to serve as ‘Mystery Shoppers.’ These individuals would receive financial instruments, such as cashier’s checks or Postal money orders, to evaluate the services of certain money transmission services, including Western Union and MoneyGram.
Once a ‘Mystery Shopper’ responded to the email solicitation with interest, the conspirators would obtain personal identification information from the shopper, which was then placed on the counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order. The conspirators would then mail the ‘Mystery Shopper’ a counterfeit cashier’s check or Postal money order for the shopper to negotiate at their own bank, keeping a portion of the payment for their services.
The ‘Mystery Shopper’ would then wire the majority of the funds to the conspirators or other recruited individuals who retrieved the transmitted funds and engaged in further distribution of the fraudulent proceeds.
Easter and Odoffin each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Each faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison, and a maximum penalty of 32 years in prison. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian J. Samuels and Megan M. Cowles are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:16-cr-49.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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