A United States citizen of Nigerian descent, Omoyoma Okoro, serving a 100-month jail term in the United States for fraud, faces fresh charge bordering on dishonesty in his citizenship application.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Daniel Bubar, in a statement on Friday, said that the Nigerian-born 51-year-old, took the oath of citizenship and naturalized on December 13, 2018.

Mr Okoro was found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud on September 19, 2024, while court documents also revealed that he intentionally tendered false statements under penalty of perjury on an application for naturalization.

The conviction of the defendant, who the court said committed the crimes between August 13, 2008 and January 1, 2011, followed a jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

During interrogation in court, the defendant was asked, “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?” He replied, “No.”  

The statement further stated that Mr Okoro had also been “convicted of two additional counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of bank fraud. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 100 months and ordered to pay over $22 million dollars in restitution.”

The statement added that Mr Okoro, arrested after he naturalized in 2018, “is charged in a three-count indictment with naturalization fraud,” adding that if gets convicted, “he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his United States citizenship.”