Two US-based Nigerians, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja and Abel Adeyi Daramola will face a combined 40-year jail term over their involvement in a romance scam.

In a statement by the US Attorney, Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, through the Department of Justice, the duo were convicted after a four-day trial and less than three hours of deliberation.

“According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, the scheme, which began in January 2016, involved the creation of a fictitious persona named “Glenn Brown” on the dating website eHarmony.com. Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, both Nigerian nationals, worked with another individual who used this fake profile to initiate a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico and subsequently request money from them,” the statement read in part.

The statement said that throughout the course of the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for “Glenn Brown” to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.

It was gathered that the victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.

Similarly, on September 27, 2016, the victim was said to have wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona.

Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check for $14,000.

Daramola, however, denied any knowledge of the romance scheme, but the FBI said its investigation revealed extensive evidence, including text and WhatsApp correspondence on Daramola’s phone, revealing his role as a provider of bank accounts for various fraud schemes including romance fraud schemes.

The second convict, Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account to receive fraudulent funds.

According to FBI, on March 9 and March 15, 2016, specifically, “Glenn Brown” instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 cash into Ogunlaja’s account.

It was further learned that after the deposits, Ogunlaja made multiple cash withdrawals and transfers to Daramola’s account.

Following the verdict, the court ordered that Ogunlaja and Daramola remain on conditions of release pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

At sentencing, Ogunlaja and Daramola each face up to 20 years in prison without parole.

Romance Scam: Two US-based Nigerians face 40-year jail term