Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, have been convicted by a U.S. federal jury for orchestrating a $560,000 romance scam. Both Nigerians now face up to 20 years in prison.
According to a statement released by U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, the convictions came after a four-day trial and under three hours of jury deliberation. The scam, which started in January 2016, involved the creation of a fake profile under the name “Glenn Brown” on the dating site eHarmony.com. This profile was used to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was deceived into sending approximately $560,000.
The fraud involved convincing the victim that financial assistance was needed for “Glenn Brown” to complete a construction project in Malaysia and return to the U.S. The funds were sent to accounts in the U.S., Canada, and Malaysia. Notably, the victim wired $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account under “Daramola Cars.” Daramola then transferred $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a $14,000 check.
While Daramola denied his involvement, text and WhatsApp messages from his phone revealed his role in supplying bank accounts for the scheme. Ogunlaja’s Bank of America account was used to receive fraudulent funds, including a $20,000 cash deposit from the victim in March 2016, which he later withdrew and transferred to Daramola’s account.
This case follows a similar conviction in November 2024, where two other Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, were sentenced to a combined 30 years in prison for defrauding U.S. citizens of $3.5 million by claiming they had received large inheritances that required fees to access.