Two Nigerian-born men have been sentenced to federal prison in the United States for laundering millions of dollars obtained through wide-ranging fraud schemes that victimized more than 125 people.
Olumide Olorunfunmi, 40, and Emmanuel Unuigbe, 43, were each sentenced to 30 months in prison in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. Their sentences will be followed by three years of supervised release, and they have been ordered to pay more than $4.6 million in restitution.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson for the Western District of North Carolina, in a statement released by the Department of Justice. James C. Barnacle Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, joined in the announcement.
According to court documents, between 2020 and 2023, Olorunfunmi and Unuigbe conspired with others to launder proceeds from several criminal activities, including romance scams targeting elderly victims and business email compromise (BEC) schemes. Victims were tricked into sending money to U.S. and international bank accounts controlled by the defendants and their associates.
Once the funds were received, the conspirators moved the money through multiple accounts within the United States and overseas. Investigators found that the fraud network caused victims to transfer over $4.5 million.
The defendants also personally benefited from the illegal proceeds. Prosecutors said they kept a share of the laundered funds and facilitated transfers for others by moving Nigerian Naira through accounts in Nigeria using a black-market exchange system.
Olorunfunmi and Unuigbe had earlier pleaded guilty to their charges.
A third individual connected to the scheme, Samson Amos, was also sentenced on Tuesday for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. He received five years of probation, including six months of home confinement, and was ordered to pay restitution.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the FBI for leading the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the Charlotte office.