Two years after his widely publicized arrest by authorities in the United States, Obinwanna Okeke, a celebrated young entrepreneur has been jailed for cyber crimes and wire fraud.
A court in the US state of Virginia sentenced Okeke, also known as Invictus Obi to 10 years in jail for spearheading a fraud scheme that stole at least $11m from its victims.
He had only last year changed his not guilty plea to guilty paving the way for the court to hand down judgement.
“Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
His Invictus Group companies used phishing emails to capture people's login details and take their funds between 2015 and 2019, the BBC said in its report.
Okeke had investment in real estate development, energy and construction. His company, Invictus Group, operated in three African countries, which included Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia, according to local news outlets.
In May 2017, The African Brand Congress awarded the Invictus Group of Companies Ltd, Africa’s Most Innovative Investment Company of the Year 2017 Award.
He was nominated for Africa’s most prestigious award for businessmen, The AABLA Awards, in the category of Young African Business Leader (West Africa).
Nigerians have been reacting to his long awaited sentencing:
