Romeoville Man Gets 10 Years For Online Inheritance, Romance Scams

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Two men, including a Romeoville resident, have been sentenced to federal prison for conducting online inheritance and romance scams, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois.

The two Nigerian nationals, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, used aliases to communicate with victims throughout the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The two men convinced victims they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient, according to the Attorney's Office.

Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a “business email compromise” scam that targeted corporate email accounts, the Attorney's Office said.

The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.

A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. On Nov. 8, Judge Seeger sentenced Aniukwu to ten years in prison.

A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on Dec. 18, according to a release.