A Nigerian national has been indicted for money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

The U.S.-based Nigerian, Okeoghene Patrick Udugba, 45, of Frisco, Texas, was indicted by a federal grand jury.

According to United States attorney Brian Miller, the indictment alleged that Mr Udugba and others orchestrated overlapping romance and business email compromise schemes.  

As part of the scheme, Mr Udugba and others utilised social media and dating websites to meet and establish purported romantic relationships with persons in multiple states.  

Those persons were groomed and ultimately used by Mr Udugba and others as money mules to receive and cash fraudulently obtained checks.

To obtain the checks, members of the conspiracy sent emails from “spoofed” addresses in Nigeria, claiming to be representatives of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).  

The spoofed emails directed that FWS grant funds be used to pay fabricated invoices, which falsely represented that the money mules were contractors and consultants of FWS who had performed work on grant-eligible projects.

As a result of the fraudulent emails and invoices, FWS’s grant administrator issued payments in excess of $300,000.