Emmanuel Ekhator, Mail and Wire Fraud, Pennsylvania 2023

Grimy Times

Nigerian National Pleads Guilty to Involvement in Multi-Million Dollar Attorney Collection Scam

A Nigerian national, Emmanuel Ekhator, 42, of Mississauga, Canada, and Benin City, Nigeria, pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud before United States Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson in Harrisburg.

Ekhator, who was part of a scam that targeted lawyers, was arrested in Nigeria in August 2010 and extradited to the United States in August 2011. The scam, which bilked U.S. and Canadian lawyers of more than $70 million, involved conspirators contacting law firms by email, claiming to be individuals or businesses outside North America who were owed money by entities in the U.S.

Once the law firm agreed to represent the out-of-country 'client,' the law firm would be contacted by the U.S. entity purportedly owing money with an offer to pay the 'client' by check. The check that was then mailed to the law firm would be a counterfeit check, a fact that would be discovered only after funds from the law firm's trust account had been wired to the Asian bank.

Ekhator's co-defendant, Yvette Mathurin, has been charged with alleged involvement with this aspect of the conspiracy and is awaiting extradition from Canada. As part of the plea agreement, lawyers for Ekhator told the court that Ekhator's involvement in the scheme makes him responsible for losses of more than $7 million and up to $20,000,000.

Ekhator also admitted to being a leader in the sophisticated criminal enterprise. The maximum penalty under the federal statute is 20 years' imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Sentencing is expected to occur in the spring.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/nigerian-national-pleads-guilty-involvement-multi-million-dollar-attorney-collection