U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel recently handed down a three-year prison sentence to a Richardson man involved in defrauding a St. Louis woman of nearly $1.2 million. The judge also mandated that the convicted individual repay the full amount.
Rotimi Oladimeji, a 38-year-old resident of Richardson, Texas, collaborated with scammers in Nigeria and the U.S. to target a victim who believed she was engaged in an online romance with a veterinarian and animal behaviorist based in St. Louis.
Having identified the victim on an online dating platform “Silver Singles,” Oladimeji and his co-conspirators initiated a virtual relationship with her. Despite making plans to meet in person, they consistently failed to follow through, even leaving her waiting at the Missouri Botanical Garden on one occasion. In October 2019, Oladimeji falsely asserted that the supposed veterinarian had plans to travel to Dubai but claimed he needed financial assistance to do so. The scammers continued to solicit the victim for four and five-figure sums.
Oladimeji directed the victim to send cash and cashier's checks via FedEx to the residence of his co-defendant, Olumide Akrinmade. Akrinmade, recruited by Oladimeji along with another Texas resident, Adewale Adesanya, was tasked with receiving the funds.
The total loss for the victim amounted to approximately $1.17 million. Oladimeji received a 20% share of the funds he orchestrated, while Akinrinmade and Adesanya, functioning as money mules facilitating the transmission of fraudulent proceeds, also received a 20% cut. The remaining portion of the funds was directed to scammers based in Nigeria.
Oladimeji, born in Lagos, Nigeria, faces the possibility of deportation upon completion of his prison term. Having entered a guilty plea in December 2022, Oladimeji admitted to two counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
Akrinmade pleaded guilty in April to a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He received a 15-month prison sentence and was directed to reimburse $46,500.
Adesanya, who pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Dallas, was sentenced to four years in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to repay $1.5 million resulting from both the romance fraud and a business email compromise scheme.
