Published 20th Sep, 2022

By Tola Owoyele

Tochukwu Abel Edeh, a Nigerian previously residing in Jacksonville, Florida, United States of America, has pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to conduct an unlicenced money transmitting business at a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to a statement on the website of the US Justice Department, 32-year-old Edeh, who managed used car dealerships and currency transfer services in Texas, Florida and Nigeria, conspired with a crime syndicate to launder and transmit proceeds of Ponzi-style investment fraud schemes in Nigeria.

Edeh laundered the fraud proceeds through a network of co-conspirators in the United States. He was also said to have used his personal and business accounts both in the United States and Nigeria for the fraudulent transactions.

It was established that neither Edeh nor his co-conspirators held money transmitting licences in their respective states of residence in the US as required by the federal law.

The Nigerian and other accused on the matter were said to have committed the crime in 2015.

On the money laundering charge, Edeh faces 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the total sum of laundered funds.

On the charge of conspiracy to conduct an unlicenced money transmitting business, Edeh faces a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice his gain or loss while funds were being laundered.

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