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January 24, 2023

College Student Sentenced for Role in International Fraud Conspiracy Involving Multiple Scams Including Impersonating the Internal Revenue Service

On November 15, 2022, in the District of Kansas, Oyindamola Akinrinola was sentenced for conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her involvement in an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) impersonation scheme.

According to the court documents, between March 2018 and December 2019, Akinrinola and her co-conspirators participated in an IRS impersonation scheme wherein they led victims to believe they won a $130,000 grant and that FedEx would deliver the money after a fee was paid. During the course of the scheme, victims received an image from a Facebook account claiming to be from the IRS, requesting $15,000 before the grant funds could be released. 

When interviewed by Federal agents, Akinrinola, a student at the University of Kansas, admitted that she was recruited by her friend to collect stolen money and items from victims. In total, Akinrinola acknowledged that over $162,000 in stolen funds were deposited into her bank account. Akinrinola also admitted that she knew she was receiving stolen funds and that she was directed by her friend to keep a portion of the money for herself and send the remainder to him in Nigeria. 

Akinrinola was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $52,202.20 in restitution.

Source:  The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: D. Kan., Information, filed Feb. 03, 2021; D. Kan., Judgment, filed Nov. 15, 2022; and D. Kan., Plea Agr., filed Feb. 22, 2021.