Celebrated Nigerian entrepreneur Obinwanne Okeke jailed for 10 years in $11m cyber fraud

The celebrated Nigerian entrepreneur Obinwanne Okeke has been handed a ten-year prison sentence by a U.S. federal court for masterminding an $11 million cyber fraud on a British company.

Okeke was held in the US since August 2019 on charges of computer and wire fraud and had previously pleaded guilty.

"In April 2018, a Unatrac executive fell prey to a phishing email that allowed conspirators to capture login credentials," according to the court statement.

"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 was transferred overseas," the statement added.

He formally pleaded guilty to charges relating to $11 million computer-based fraud transacted between 2015 and 2019.

Okeke has invested in real estate development, energy, and construction. His company, Invictus Group, operates in three African countries, which include Nigeria, South Africa, and Zambia, according to the local news portal Legit.

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).

Okeke is a regular contributor to the Forbes Africa Magazine where he shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship and investment in Africa; The Guardian further reported