Why Invictus Obi may get reduced sentence as he pleads guilty to $11m wire fraud
Popular Nigerian ‘entrepreneur’, Obinwanne Okeke, aka Invictus Obi, arrested for wire fraud in the United State in August 2019 has pleaded guilty to the crime.
The U.S Department of Justice revealed this in a statement seen by Neusroom on its website on Thursday. It said Okeke pleaded guilty on Thursday to a computer based intrusion fraud scheme that caused $11 million in losses to his victims.
Prior to his arrest that came as a shock to many Nigerians in August 2019, the 32-year-old is the founder of Invictus Group of Companies, an investment conglomerate dealing in construction, agriculture, oil and gas, renewable energy, telecoms, and real estate.
He gained continental prominence in 2016 when, at 28, he was named in Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 list and was featured in the magazine’s June 2016 cover which described him as “proof that there is hope for Africa”. His public image as a hardworking entrepreneur and a role model to many youths turned out to be a hoax with his arrest revealing that he is a fraudster.
The FBI is prosecuting Okeke for orchestrating the theft of $11 million from a foreign subsidiary of American heavy equipment manufacturer, Caterpillar.
“The conspirators obtained and compiled the credentials of hundreds of victims, including victims in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere,” a statement by the Department of Justice on Thursday read.
As part of the scheme, Okeke and other conspirators engaged in an email compromise scheme targeting Unatrac Holding Limited, the export sales office for Caterpillar heavy industrial and farm equipment.
According to the statement, “In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials. The conspirators sent fraudulent wire transfer requests and attached fake invoices. Okeke participated in the effort to victimize Unatrac through fraudulent wire transfers totaling nearly $11 million, which funds were transferred overseas.”
The maximum penalty for his crime is 20 years in prison, but after pleading guilty, he is likely to get a reduced sentence when his case is decided on October 22 by a federal district court.
The DoJ statement said: “Okeke faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on October 22. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
A few days after Okeke’s arrest, the US government released a list of 78 Nigerians allegedly involved in internet fraud in the country and also embarked on a massive clampdown that has led to the arrest of many suspected Nigerian cyber fraudsters in the last eight months. Some of those who have been hit by the wave of arrests include internet sensations like Ismaila Mustapha aka Mompha and Malaysian based Ramoni Igbalode aka Hushpuppi.
Meanwhile, in November 2019, a Federal High Court in Lagos, ordered the final forfeiture of N280.5m stashed in the bank accounts of Invictus Oil and Gas Limited and Invictus Investment Limited owned by Okeke.
His Invictus Group of Companies’ website has been taken down but a deeper search by Neusroom into the archive of the deactivated website revealed that his mother, Celine Okeke, is also listed on the board of the company as an Executive Director.
When Neusroom called the company’s official phone number, it has been put off. Employees who identified with the company on LinkedIn appear to have moved on with their lives, there is no mention of the company and its embattled CEO in their social media activities.
In a 2018 interview with BBC, Okeke said his business interests are based in five African countries. On what motivated him into the stream of businesses he was known with, he said “Poverty drove me into the business and my hunger for trying to create wealth and resources and employment around my immediate community.”
