A Nigerian-American, Omoyoma Okoro, who is currently serving 100 months imprisonment for his role in an $80m fraud, now risks an additional 30 years for allegedly obtaining US citizenship fraudulently.

PUNCH Metro learnt from a statement obtained on the US Department of Justice website on Sunday that Okoro was sentenced in September 2024 following his conviction for conspiracy to commit mail, wire, and bank fraud by a US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

It added, “He was also convicted of two additional counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and one count of bank fraud. He was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 100 months and ordered to pay over $22m in restitution.”

The statement disclosed that Okoro had committed the offences for which he was jailed between 2008 and 2011, a period before he applied to naturalise as a US citizen.

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It continued that in 2018, Okoro applied to be naturalised as a US citizen and, in the process of the application, he was asked if he had committed or aided any crime before, to which he responded negatively.

The statement added, “He was not arrested until after he naturalised in 2018, so immigration officials were unaware of his crimes before granting citizenship.

“According to the indictment and previously issued court documents, Okoro is alleged to have made knowingly and materially false statements under penalty of perjury on an application for naturalisation.

In response to one question, ‘Have you ever committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offence for which you were not arrested?’ he answered ‘No.’ Okoro took the oath of citizenship and naturalised on December 13, 2018.”

The statement noted that if Okoro is found guilty, he now faces a maximum of 30 years imprisonment and the revocation of his citizenship.

“Okoro is charged in a three-count indictment with naturalisation fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his United States citizenship,” the statement concluded.

PUNCH Metro reported on June 9 that a Nigerian, Kingsley Utulu, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for his role in a large-scale hacking and identity theft scheme that defrauded the U.S. tax authorities and private individuals of over $2.5m.

The sentencing followed Utulu’s guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Clayton noted that Utulu took part in a scheme to hack into the U.S. tax preparation businesses, trade in the stolen personal identifying information, and defraud the IRS and other governmental bodies