Another U.S.-based Nigerian, Uchechukwu Gideon Eze, has been sentenced to about two years in prison for wire fraud, swindling a small business of not less than $182,000.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Tom Wheeler,  sentenced Mr Eze on Wednesday for his involvement in “a sophisticated business email compromise scheme that defrauded a small business in Clark County, Indiana of more than $182,000,” the DoJ said in a statement.

The attorney also oredered Mr Eze to pay $182,201.80 in restitution.

Citing court documents, the DoJ said Mr “Eze’s co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to an email account used by employees of the business. Using this access, they impersonated a representative of the company and sent fraudulent emails to another small business in Clark County. 

“The emails falsely claimed that the victim business had changed its banking institution and directed future payments to a specified JPMorgan Chase account.”

It added, “That account, while appearing legitimate, was in fact controlled by Eze and registered under the name Blue Horizon Automobile LLC—a fictitious entity created solely to receive the stolen funds. As a result of the scheme, Eze received $182,201.80 in payments meant for the victim company. Once the transfers were complete, Eze quickly drained the account, spending much of the money on personal purchases, including a new vehicle.”

Realising his fraudulent schemes had been uncovered by security agencies, Mr Eze fled the U.S. for six months. However, U.S. law enforcement agents captured him on his return to the country from Canada.

Sentencing Mr Eze, Mr Wheeler said, “the harm he caused was not merely financial. His conduct compromised the ability of two elderly individuals to retire and created undue stress, jeopardizing the livelihood of a family-run business and exploiting the trust that fuels our economy.

He added, “Our office remains committed to holding fraudsters accountable and protecting Hoosier businesses from financial harm.”

This sentence followed episodes of Nigerians in diaspora jailed for involvement in crimes.

In August, Joseph Oloyede, the Apetu of Ipetumodu in Osun State, was sentenced to five years in prison in the U.S. over his role in a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud.