Stephen Odiboh has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His sentencing was announced on Thursday.
Mr Odiboh, 53, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was ordered to pay $196,500 in restitution by U.S. district judge Charles Siragusa.
Between 2023 and March 2025, Mr Odiboh conspired with co-conspirators to defraud four victims. The total loss and attempted loss were $356,500.
In 2023, Mr Odiboh contacted a victim, a 77-year-old woman in New York’s Western District, on Facebook. Posing as ‘Oliver Wilson’, he falsely claimed he was a United States citizen, a widower, and living in Norway.
In about a year and a half, ‘Wilson’ fostered a romantic online relationship, stating that he needed gift cards to “stay online” and continue talking. As a result, the 77-year-old victim sent ‘Wilson’ some 30 $500 gift cards, totalling about $15,000, said the U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition, between January and July of 2024, ‘Wilson’ induced the elderly victim to mail eight checks totalling over $162,000 to specific individuals and entities, including two checks to Mr Odiboh. In December 2024, ‘Wilson’ stated that he was being held by customs authorities in Norway and needed to pay a $158,000 fine.
He directed the victim to mail two checks totalling $158,000, but the elderly woman’s bank detected fraud and stopped payment before the checks could be cashed.
In April 2024, a co-conspirator contacted a second victim, a caterer, claiming to be ‘Alex Alberto’ and needing catering services. The caterer requested an $800 deposit. To pay the purported deposit, ‘Alberto’ sent the caterer a check for $2,800 and instructed the caterer to cash the check and send the extra $2,000 to the defendant via Zelle.
The caterer realised he was being defrauded and did not deposit the check.
In 2024, a co-conspirator, claiming to be ‘William Rivera’, contacted another person through an online dating website. After gaining the individual’s trust, ‘Rivera’ convinced the victim to send $2,000 to Mr Odiboh via CashApp, which the individual did on August 14, 2024.
In March 2025, a co-conspirator, claiming to be ‘Alec Jonas’, contacted someone on a dating website, leading the person to believe that they were starting a romantic relationship. Once he gained her trust, ‘Jonas’ stated that he was working in Bahrain and needed money to ship goods from Bahrain to Texas, prompting the woman to wire $17,525 to a bank account he controlled.