Ikponmwosa Erhinmwinrose and Nyerhovwo Presley Agbure, both of Atlanta, Georgia, were sentenced on Apr. 8 in connection with a nationwide fraud ring that stole millions in government funds and used the identities of thousands of victims. Erhinmwinrose received a 17-year federal prison sentence after being convicted by a jury in Denver on multiple counts including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and wire fraud conspiracy. Agbure was sentenced to 57 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Two other codefendants are awaiting sentencing.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by authorities to address large-scale financial crimes targeting government relief programs established during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to evidence presented at trial and sentencing, Erhinmwinrose, Agbure, and others applied for over $90 million in benefits from programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, state unemployment insurance—including Colorado—and tax refunds. The group ultimately stole more than $7.6 million.
To carry out the scheme, conspirators used stolen identities from more than 1,000 individuals across the country. Many victims did not receive IRS stimulus payments or were notified they had loans taken out in their names; some also faced social backlash due to fraudulent activity attributed to them online. The defendants created fake email accounts impersonating real people or businesses and laundered proceeds through various bank accounts before converting funds into cash or sending them overseas.
“Driven by greed and selfishness, these criminals ran an aggressive fraud scheme which stole millions of dollars from American taxpayers and victimized more than a thousand innocent people,” said United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly. “The United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Colorado in partnership with the National Fraud Enforcement Division will continue to vigorously seek out and prosecute those who defraud and victimize American taxpayers.” United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over sentencing.
Multiple agencies investigated this case: Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; FDIC Office of Inspector General; Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General; while Assistant United States Attorneys Craig Fansler and Sonia Dave prosecuted it.
Officials emphasized that anyone with information about attempted COVID-19-related fraud can report it via the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline or web complaint form.
