Tolulope Samuel Bodunde, Business Email Compromise, Connecticut 2024

A Newark, New Jersey resident has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in a business email compromise scheme that targeted multiple states, including Connecticut.

Tolulope Samuel Bodunde, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a business email compromise scheme that operated out of multiple countries, including the United States.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Bodunde participated in a business email compromise scheme masterminded by his co-conspirator, Okechukwu Valentine Osuji. Osuji and his co-conspirators targeted specific individuals and businesses by masquerading as trustworthy entities in electronic communications to obtain money.

They utilized unwitting and witting ‘money mules’ to receive fraud proceeds in their bank accounts, and then transferred those funds to accounts under the control of Osuji and his co-conspirators. Over the course of the scheme’s years-long operation, numerous victims were tricked into transferring funds into bank accounts the victims believed were under the control of legitimate recipients of the funds as part of normal business operations, when in reality, the bank accounts were controlled by Osuji and his co-conspirators.

The victims included a Connecticut-based financial company, a Colorado-based lending company, an Alaska-based nonprofit performing arts organization, a New York-based food and beverage company, and others. Bodunde’s role in the scheme included the exploitation of elderly women through romance scams to serve as unwitting money mules.

Judge Meyer ordered Bodunde to pay restitution totaling $494,939 to three victims of this scheme.

Bodunde was arrested on August 7, 2020. On February 16, 2024, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He is required to report to prison on November 19.

Osuji, also a citizen of Nigeria, was found guilty by a jury on May 1, 2024, of conspiracy, wire fraud, and identity theft offenses stemming from this scheme. He is detained while awaiting sentencing.

The case has been investigated by the FBI New Haven Field Office and the Stamford Police Department. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Royal Malaysia Police, and Malaysian Attorney General’s Chambers have provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel and Trial Attorney Lydia Lichlyter of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case.

To learn more about business email compromise scams, please visit www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/business-email-compromise and www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2023/PSA230609.

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