Laurel Man Gets 19 Years for Internet Dating Scheme

GREENBELT, MD — A Laurel man is facing 19 years in prison after defrauding victims of millions of dollars via an Internet dating scam.

Victor Oyewumi Oloyede, 42, was appropriately sentenced on Valentine's Day to 234 months in prison and four years of supervised release for conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and for aggravated identity theft. He will have to pay restitution of $1,641,949.74 to his victims, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department.

Oloyede is accused of searching online dating websites along with three co-conspirators to initiate romantic relationships with vulnerable men and women between January 2011 and May 2015.

"Witnesses testified that members of the conspiracy used false stories and promises to convince the victims to provide money to the conspirators, including fake hospital bills, plane trips to visit the victims, problems with overseas businesses and foreign taxes," the statement reads. "Oloyede and other conspirators opened bank accounts, called 'drop accounts,' in order to receive millions of dollars from the victims. Testimony at trial showed that victims provided money to the defendants as a result of the false stories and promises, either depositing money directly into drop accounts controlled by the defendants, or by checks sent to the conspirators.

The payments ranged between $1,720 to $50,000 each.

"Oloyede and his co-conspirators dispersed money received from the victims by transferring funds to other accounts controlled by the conspirators, by obtaining cashier’s checks, and by writing checks to individuals or entities, in order to conceal the nature, source, and control of those assets," the statement adds.

Gbenga Benson Ogundele, a/k/a “Benson Ogundele,” age 58, of Laurel, Maryland; Babatunde Emmanuel Popoola, a/k/a “Emmanuel Popoola” and “Tunde Popoola, age 34, of Bowie, Maryland; and his sister, Mojisola Tinuola Popoola, a/k/a “Mojisola Oluwakemi Tin Popoola” and “Moji T. Popoola,” age 42, of Laurel, were also convicted.

Image via Flickr user Chris Potter