A Nigerian, Abdulwaris Akinsanya, previously convicted in a federal romance scam case, has been re-arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over fresh allegations of fraud and forgery.
According to a report by Dallas Express, on Wednesday, Akinsanya, 28, was apprehended by ICE’s Dallas Enforcement and Removal Operations unit after he allegedly attempted to flee in a vehicle.
The report, however, did not specify the exact date or location of the arrest.
Confirming the development, the ICE Dallas unit said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Akinsanya “has convictions for forgery with conspiracy to defraud the United States and fleeing via vehicle in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.”
Citing a March 6, 2024, press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, Dallas Express noted that Akinsanya had earlier been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his involvement in a romance scam scheme.
The report stated that Akinsanya pleaded guilty on October 12, 2023, to conspiracy to defraud the United States after investigators found out that he had opened fraudulent bank accounts used to funnel money from scam victims.
Convict Akinsanya’s Fraud Scheme and Rising Nigerian Convictions in U.S. Federal Cases
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed that in May 2020, Akinsanya used a forged passport and a fake identity to open an account at City National Bank.
One of the scams linked to the case involved co-conspirators posing as a fictitious person to trick a victim in Alabama into sending $2,650 via money order. Akinsanya was said to have deposited the money into the fraudulent account and kept a portion for himself.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton reportedly emphasised the “sophisticated nature of the scheme” and its seriousness. Akinsanya was sentenced to 18 months in prison, ordered to pay $2,650 in restitution, and placed under three years of supervised release.
The Department of Justice confirmed that the case stemmed from investigations by the FBI’s Oklahoma City Field Office.
While public records show Akinsanya’s sentence was due to end earlier this year, it remains unclear whether he was immediately taken into ICE custody upon release or whether his arrest stemmed from a separate offence committed after completing his prison term.
The latest development comes amid a wave of fraud-related convictions involving Nigerian nationals in the United States.
In a separate but similar case, Abiola Quadri, another Nigerian residing in the San Gabriel Valley, US, was sentenced to 135 months (over 11 years) in federal prison.
Quadri was found guilty of defrauding the states of California and Nevada of $1.3m through COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment and disability insurance scams. This article was originally published by Punchng.com and has been adapted for further clarity.
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