Nigerian citizen who had been living in Canada was on Monday, March 4, sentenced by U.S. federal court to 10 years in prison for obstructing justice in a multi-million dollar fraud case.
Michael Adefemi
Adeyemo, also known as Adekunle Olufeni Adetiloye, was previously
sentenced in 2012 in North Dakota to serve 17 years and six months for a
multi-million dollar credit card fraud scheme involving more than 20
banks in the U.S., according to a Justice Department news release.
At the time, it was the largest credit card fraud suffered by US Bank and the Discover Card Bank in their histories.
Years
after the 2012 sentencing, authorities discovered Adeyemo, 47, took
steps to conceal his prior residency in the U.S. as a legal permanent
resident, that he was a licensed attorney in Nigeria and that he was a
fugitive with an outstanding warrant in California from 2001 for another
fraud scheme.
A jury found him guilty of concealing this evidence from authorities to reduce his 2012 sentence.
Sentencing
Adeyemo to 10 years in prison, District Judge Linda Reade in Iowa said
Adeyemo showed a “callous disregard of the laws of the United States.”
“This
case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and
the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service
has been and will always be relentless in the pursuit of facts
throughout a criminal investigation,” said Bill Hedrick, Inspector in
Charge of the Denver Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
which includes North Dakota. “Postal Inspectors know this and take great
pride in their search to find the truth. Through the diligence of our
Inspector and others in this case, we were able to bring the defendant
to face justice for the full scope of his crimes,” said Hedrick. “We
appreciate the dedicated effort of all those involved in this case,
including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Forensic Lab, and agents
from Homeland Security Investigations.”
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