Nigerian woman sentenced in Wisconsin to 10 years for bilking her victims out of more than $2.3 million in Internet-dating fraud scheme

MADISON, Wis. — A Nigerian woman was sentenced Friday to 10 years in federal prison for her involvement in a wire fraud scheme that defrauded victims of more than $2.3 million via Internet-dating services.

This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Price County (Wisconsin) Sheriff’s Office.

Sally Iriri, 33, a Nigerian national who was living in Chicago, was sentenced Nov. 20 by U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson, Western District of Wisconsin, for wire fraud. She pleaded guilty to this charge Sept. 3.

From about October 2013 to March 2015, Iriri participated in a scheme to defraud victims in the United States and Canada out of more than $2.3 million.  Iriri and others targeted victims by creating fake profiles on Internet-dating services.  Once they gained the victims’ trust, Iriri and others defrauded their victims in a variety of ways, including getting victims to pay so-called “inheritance taxes” on nonexistent inheritances, and getting victims to send money in exchange for checks that turned out to be fraudulent.

Judge Peterson said that a 10-year sentence was appropriate to “do justice” for the victims, the public, and the defendant. Judge Peterson also noted that the sentence was appropriate in light of the significant financial and emotional impact the scheme had on the vulnerable victims involved.

Iriri’s co-defendant, Michael Adegoke, 33, also a Nigerian national, was arrested in Atlanta Nov. 3.  He appeared in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia and was detained pending his transfer to the Western District of Wisconsin.  His arraignment date has not yet been scheduled.

Assistance in the investigation was provided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Price County District Attorney’s Office, and numerous law enforcement agencies in California, Indiana, Arizona, New Jersey and Iowa.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Duchemin, Western District of Wisconsin, prosecuted this case.