ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Babatunde Aniyi, 33, of Lagos, Nigeria, was sentenced today to 33 months in prison for a conspiracy to defraud United States defense contractors and impersonation of United States officers. Aniyi was also ordered to pay $1,515,524.18 in restitution to his victims.
Aniyi pleaded guilty on Oct. 21, 2016. According to court documents, Aniyi and a co-conspirator in Nigeria impersonated U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials using fake DOD email accounts and websites. Aniyi and his co-conspirator would order computers and smart phones in the name of DOD officials and divert the packages to Nigeria, with the help of two of the U.S.-based co-conspirators, Solomon Oyesanya and Oludayo Edgal. Oyesanya and Edgal pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges last year and were sentenced to 60 and 27 months in prison, respectively. According to court documents, the conspiracy caused more than $1.5 million in losses.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jeffery Thorpe, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Cyber Field Office; and Gordon B. Johnson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kellen S. Dwyer and Maya D. Song prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:14-cr-311.